The Ballad of Sam and Freddie
by eleanorr1gby
Summary: When Freddie finds Sam outside his apartment beaten and bloodied, he vows to do anything to help her, but no one realizes how far both of them will have to go...
1. Chapter 1: A Hard Day's Night

**A/N: This is my first iCarly fanfic. I don't watch the show religiously (so I haven't committed every little factoid to memory, cut me some slack if I mess up a name or something!), but I do love it, and every time I come across it on tv I always watch it. One of the most well-written kids/teen shows to date IMHO! Anyway, I write a lot, but it's literally been years since I delved into a fanfic, I mostly write nonfiction and fantasy/sci-fi. I'm not a teen, so I'm not going to write like one, but I will try to follow the traditional YA format. Let's just say I didn't have a normal high school experience so I tend to get sucked into shows centered around high school kids. Being vicarious and all that.**

**This is rated M for language, adult situations, violence, some underage drinking, future lemons, etc...I realize this story is QUITE out of character for Freddie, Spencer, Carly, and especially Sam, but this story touches on things that would get the show taken off the air if they even mentioned these sort of topics. If you still have trouble picturing it, imagine that iCarly moved from Nickelodeon to Showtime or HBO. =) **

**One more thing, title of the story is inspired by the title of a Beatles song (The Ballad of John and Yoko), all chapter titles are actual Beatles songs, unchanged. (Except for Chapter 12...you'll see haha) The Beatles really do work for everything. Promise.**

Chapter One

A Hard Day's Night

~*Freddie*~

It was the first week of summer vacation. The storm raged on outside as I sat on my couch watching Saving Private Ryan, a rare treat. Mom didn't approve of bloody war movies, but she was away at a conference in Portland for an entire week. You think she'd care about making sure my education was as historically accurate as possible, but no. She mainly cared about keeping me sheltered.

Kind of coincidental that the first time she was gone for an extended period would be the same time I got pulled into all sorts of crazy shit.

I heard a loud banging outside my apartment that wasn't coming from the storm. It was coming from the hall, and it was nearly 2 AM. The banging repeated, frantically. I stood up, throwing my robe on and going to the peep hole. Peering through it, I saw a small figure sitting next to Carly's door. Cautiously I stepped out into the hallway, pulling my robe around me.

The tiny figure was Sam, soaking wet and sobbing hysterically, curled up into a ball. I had never seen Sam shed a single tear in her life, and here she was sitting on the hallway floor, completely losing it, crying harder than I'd ever seen anyone cry. I was alarmed, at the very least.

"Sam?" I asked. "What are you doing? Carly and Spencer are in Yakima all weekend remember? What's going on with you? It's 2 o'clock in the morning!"

She muttered something, but I couldn't tell what it was with her face buried in her lap, knees pulled up to her chest. I could definitely tell she was still crying though. Sam Puckett did NOT cry. Something was seriously wrong.

I dropped to my knees, my hands resting on top of hers. "You're not okay. Talk to me."

"About what, Fredweird? I told you, your face is stuck like that." Sam grumbled, still not looking up at me. Still crying.

"What's going on?" I asked.

She finally looked up at me, her soaking wet hair matted to her face, partially covering both of her eyes. I reached to brush the hair off her face, but as my fingers made contact with her skin, she winced, hissing in pain and turning her head. I angled my body slightly to get a look at what caused her to jerk away so quickly. My jaw dropped.

"Holy shit, Sam! What the hell happened to your face?" I rarely swore, but I was so alarmed I couldn't help it.

Her jaw was bruised, lip split open, her right eye was beginning to turn black, and on her left temple was a significantly sized gash. I looked down at her shaking hands and noticed how bloodied the knuckles were. I began to take stock of the rest of the damage, hair disheveled, clothes soaking wet and her shirt ripped at the shoulder, hanging off her petite frame.

"Sam?" I asked fearfully. "You've gotta talk to me. NOW."

She opened her mouth to speak, but burst into tears again, crying so violently she fell onto the floor, curling into the fetal position and making no attempt to brush the hair off her face. I was stunned! This girl beats the crap out of me on a daily basis and she was crumbling right in front of my eyes! I looked around the hallway, feeling powerless, and also not wanting to draw the attention of anyone else in the complex. What happened to the little wildcat demon? She was broken! Somebody BROKE HER! I was seething with rage, and I did the only thing I could do, I picked up the tiny girl and carried her into my apartment, depositing her on the couch. She continued to sob. I walked back to my bedroom to throw on some pants and then headed to the kitchen, ever keeping an eye on my traumatized friend-who-was-possibly-more-than-a-friend-but-we-were-still-in-denial-friend.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she sniffled as she heard me banging around the kitchen.

I walked over to her, perching on the edge of the coffee table. My left hand went to her chin, holding her face straight. She tried to move away, but I held her steady.

"Be still," I said, clicking on the little flashlight I had in my right hand. I held the beam of light to her left eye, watching her pupil shrink, then the other. Sam blinked profusely.

I held up my hand. "How many fingers?"

"Two."

"Good, you don't have a concussion." I stood up and walked back into the kitchen.

"What are you doing now?"

I walked back over to her, carrying two glasses in my hand, sat down on the coffee table in front of her and handed her one of the glasses.

"I found Mom's emergency alcohol stash a few months ago. Maker's mark. Should help take the edge off things." I responded, taking a sip of my own whiskey. I waited for her to make a stinging remark about mama's boys don't drink, but it never came. She simply raised the glass to her lips, hissing in pain again as the alcohol made contact with her split lip.

"So you gonna talk to me Puckett?" I asked.

Sam looked around the apartment, avoiding my eyes. "Where's your mom?"

"Portland, for the week. She's at some conference about controlling your kids while they're at college," I mused. "So she won't be interrupting us anytime soon."

I couldn't tell if that made Sam relieved or even more nervous. She wouldn't be able to run away if my mom wasn't here to chase her off.

I sighed, trying to reformulate my plan. "Okay, just sit here, I'll be right back."

I went into my bathroom and grabbed a towel and a first aid kit, then walked back to Sam, who at this point had already drained her first glass of whiskey. I handed her the towel and set the first aid kit on the table.

"Another?" I asked. She nodded, giving me a tiny smile as I took the glass from her. Small progress, but progress none the less. I refilled her glass and walked back over to her, watching as she squeezed the rain water from her long blonde hair.

I sat down in front of her again and opened up the massive first aid kit, pulling out supplies.

"What are you doing?" she asked as I brushed her hair off her face and over her ears, pressing a moist cloth to the cut on her cheek. "Ow!"

"Sorry," I said, blowing on the wound to alleviate the sting caused by the hydrogen peroxide. I took her chin in my hand, turning her head this way and that, as I took stock of her injuries. She didn't fight me. Her eyes were exhausted and radiated with emotional pain. She looked dead inside.

"When did you learn how to do this?" she asked as I continued to nurse her injuries. I shrugged.

"Mom's a nurse, what do you expect?" I motioned to her glass. "Drink that. You're gonna need it."

"Why?" Sam asked. My hand reached out, my fingers stopping just below the gaping wound on her left temple.

"Because this," I said, running my hand down the side of her face. "Needs stitches."

She froze. "I am not letting you come at me with a needle, Fredballs."

I shrugged. "It's either me or the doctor at the hospital. Who will ask questions, and probably file a report."

She sagged, defeated.

"I'll try to make it as painless as possible." I said, my hand patting her knee reassuringly. She took a deep breath and nodded as she watched me prepare the curved needle and stitch thread.

"They beat the shit outta me, Freddie," she said softly, after a few moments of silence. My eyes rose up to meet hers.

"Who did?" I asked softly. Her eyes flicked back down to the carpet, not wanting to answer me. My hand went back to her knee and I spoke in a low, hypnotizing tone. "Who hurt you Sammy?"

I expected her to chastise me for calling her that, that was my intention. Get her irritated, take her mind off what's happened. Nothing. She just stared at me with those big blue eyes.

"Bill," she responded, referring to her mother's boyfriend du jour. "And she...helped him." She started to cry again. "Freddie what do I do? I don't have anywhere to go, I..." She was crying so hard she was gasping for air.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down! You're gonna hyperventilate!" I cautioned, but she couldn't calm down. I felt powerless. Finally I did the only thing I could do, I pulled the sobbing girl against my chest and wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on top of her head. "It's okay," I whispered. "You're gonna be fine. You're safe now."

Eventually she calmed down and pulled away slightly, looking up at me. She sniffled. "I got blood on your shirt," she pointed out. I shrugged.

"It's okay. But I gotta deal with that gash on your head or you're gonna get blood everywhere," I said. She sighed and nodded.

"Can I have another drink first?"

I swiftly got up to refill both of our glasses.

Ten minutes later, Sam had a slight buzz, and was silent as I sat there holding the ice cube to the skin around the gash, trying to numb the area before I stuck a needle in it.

"Coulda got a needle that's not all bent outta shape Fredweeb." she commented, picking up the needle. I rolled my eyes.

"Curved needles makes stitches easier." I put down the ice cube and took the needle from her hand. Her eyes flicked up to mine. "Ready?" I asked. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Owww..." she muttered through gritted teeth. "This hurts like hell."

"I'm sorry," I said stoically. "I'm almost done. Three more."

I was sure she was in a great deal of pain, but tough little Sam was a trooper and held out to the end, sighing in relief as I raised the scissors to her head and she heard the quiet 'snick' sound.

"There, all done." I said with an encouraging smile.

"Do I get a lollipop?" she asked. She was becoming Sam again.

"No," I responded, pausing. "You get to tell me what happened though."

She looked terrified at this prospect. "I can't. I can't talk about it."

My eyes narrowed as something clicked in my head. "You got any more injuries on you?"

"What?" She asked, swallowing. "Why would you ask that?"

"You know why." I responded. "What'd he do to you Sam?"

Sam looked down at her hands, her fingers brushing over the cloth wrapped around her bloody knuckles. "Well, I mean, he didn't get that far," she said, holding up her wrapped up hand. "But Mom didn't like the idea of me smacking her boyfriend around, even if he was trying to..." she stopped. "Never mind." She stood up. "I should go. Thanks for fixing my head."

She swiftly moved across the living room and opened the front door, only to have it be immediately slammed shut. Stunned, she whirled around to find me inches away from her, her body now stuck between the door and I.

"You're not going anywhere, Sam. Not like this. You'll stay here until you figure out what you need to do."

"But your mom..."

"Won't be back for another six days, Sam." I responded. "If you don't wanna talk about what happened, that's fine. Just...stay and keep me company."

Sam looked at me suspiciously. "I see what you did there," she said accusingly, and simply walked back to the couch, picking up her empty whiskey glass. "Barwench, get me another!"

I didn't press Sam for information that night, but I decided I would get it out of her the next day. We stayed up late enough for the sun to rise, had it not been pouring down rain of course. We sat in silence for most of the night, and the bottle was half empty. I'd have to pay Spencer twenty bucks to pick up another one before Mom got back. Sam was pretty drunk, but I figured after the night she'd had, she kind of deserved it. She stood in the middle of the living room, kind of swaying back and forth and watching me as I pulled out the sofa bed and made it for her. I finished and turned to her.

"Well, there you go. Get some sleep, we'll talk in the morning." I said.

"Thanks Freddie." Sam responded softly. I shrugged.

"Not a problem, Sam. I'll see you in a few hours."

I had been in bed maybe all of twenty minutes before Sam came creeping into my bedroom like a little girl. I shot up to a sitting position, alarmed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I...well...I..." she sighed, as if trying to force the words out. "I don't want to be alone right now."

I looked at her wordlessly and pulled back the covers so she could climb in bed with me. She did, laying on her side, back turned to me. She backed up a little bit closer to me, and I instinctively wrapped one arm around her, trying to calm her down. I would have given ANYTHING to have the circumstances changed, to have Sam in my bed unharmed and happy. And naked. Shit. Snap out of it, Benson.

"Please don't give me shit about this tomorrow," she remarked, half asleep already. "I'll just blame it on being drunk."

"I know," I responded, slightly amused. "Besides, giving you shit about anything is pretty much suicide." I chuckled as she elbowed me in the rib.

"Shut up Fredward," she yawned, then sighed. I could see her eyes flutter open as they skidded to the door. No. No one would be hurting Sam again tonight. Tonight she had my protection. I held her a little bit tighter and ran my fingers through her thick blonde hair. She shivered a little.

"I got you," I whispered in her ear. "No one's gonna hurt you, I got you."

I heard her sigh in relief and all the tension leave her body. Pretty soon, the only sounds in the room were Sam's soft snores. I closed my eyes and drifted off, trying to forget everything that had happened.

~* Sam *~

I woke up in Freddie's bed with a massive hangover, alone, in one of his giant t-shirts. Memories of last night hit me like a freight train. The fight, the attack, being forcibly pushed out of my own home after being attacked. The blood. God. So much blood. I was amazed I had managed to limp two miles to Bushwell without passing out.

And then there was Fredweeb.

I was amazed at how calmly he had handled the situation. Christ, he even sewed my skin back together! Then I remembered the alcohol. And I was in his bed. In his shirt. I gulped. His shirt smelled like him. Delicious. Whatever cologne he wore, I loved. It was rich and woodsy and crisp and...Freddie.

I really hoped what I thought had happened didn't happen. Not while I was drunk and recovering from the worst beating of my life. No, I wanted to be completely happy, in the moment, sober, and...naked. With naked Freddie. Yum. My stomach growled. I looked down, perplexed. Maybe my brain was messed up. I didn't mean that kind of yum. Moments later, I sniffed the air as I recognized the scent of bacon and eggs wafting through the apartment. Oh. That was it. Brain still working fine. I pulled the covers back and got out of bed, cautiously walking into the living room. Freddie was in the kitchen, his back to me, fussing over something at the stove. My head was in searing pain, and I stumbled a bit as I walked, hitting a lamp. Freddie turned to see me standing there in only his t-shirt watching him.

"Hey, you're up," he said. "Hungover?"

I scoffed. "You have no idea."

"I'm a little under the weather myself. Have a seat," he responded, sitting a mug of coffee on the breakfast bar. I sat down and immediately picked up the hot, glorious caffeine-laden beverage, not caring that it burned my hands and tongue. As I sipped the coffee, Freddie stood on the other side of the bar. He took the coffee mug out of my hands and set it on the bar, taking my chin in his hand. God I loved his hands.

"Let's see," he murmured, tilting my face back and forth. I avoided making eye contact with him, those beautiful chocolate pools that seemed to look right through me. I struggled for something to say, anything!

"How do the stitches look?" I asked. Lame, Puckett.

"Pretty badass, if you ask me." he responded with a grin that was contagious. He paused. "Food'll be done in a second. Scrambled okay?"

I nodded, staring down at the table.

"So are we gonna talk?" Freddie asked me. My eyes skidded up to his.

"You promised you wouldn't give me shit last night. I remembered that in my drunken stupor," I snapped, then I paused. "We didn't...like..."

"God no! You think I'm gonna pounce on a girl right after she's been beaten up? You know me better than that, Sam." Freddie responded, looking irritated.

I did know that. I just didn't have the balls to tell him that there was little stopping me from pouncing on HIM most days. Ever since that kiss at the lock-in. Last night however, was a different matter, I just wanted to feel safe for a change. Freddie made me feel that way.

He changed the subject. "Look, Sam, you're gonna have to talk about what happened last night eventually. You know that right?"

"I know," I responded. "I just can't yet."

He sat a plate of food in front of me and I hungrily dove into it. Freddie watched, a bemused expression on his face. I stopped eating and stared at him.

"Thanks," I said softly. "For helping me."

"How could I not?" Freddie responded. "I've never seen you like you were last night. It kinda scared me."

I nodded. "Scared me too."

There was an uncomfortable silence between us, and Freddie finally got up, going to one of the cabinets and pulling out a bottle of Advil. He opened it and sat two pills on the counter next to my plate, then pulled a water bottle out of his fridge.

"For your head," he explained.

He certainly had this whole nurturing thing down pat. I obediently swallowed the pills, gulping at the cold water.

"So..." I started. "What do we do now?"

"It's still storming outside. If you wanna just hang out here all day, we can do that. I can pull out the forbidden movie stash," he offered.

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan, Fredwina."

He smirked and rolled his eyes at me before getting up to fix a plate of his own.


	2. Chapter 2: I'll Cry Instead

**A/N: Forgot to mention, this takes place sometime after iOMG assuming iLMM never happened (so excited for it! eeee!)**

**Chapter Two:**  
><strong>I'll Cry Instead<strong>

~*Freddie*~

Sam and I spent most of the day lounging on the couch, alternating between playing video games and watching horror flicks. She still refused to talk about whatever went down, and I didn't press her. The last thing I wanted was to scare the girl off, there's no telling where she would go.

It was nearly eight o'clock when I heard a loud knocking at my door. Sam nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Who is that?" she asked fearfully, completely out of character for her. I stood up.

"Go in the bathroom or something, I'll find out."

Sam scurried off and I heard the bathroom door shut.

The knocking came again, and I got up and walked to the door, looking through the peephole. Looks like Carly was back. I cracked the door open a little and stuck my head out.

"Hey," I said. "You're back."

Carly pushed the door open and wandered inside. 'Sanctuary!', I wanted to yell at her. How very Quasimodo. I wondered if Sam would ever hit on that nickname. Freddimodo.

"Come on in," I said, irritated.

"Have you talked to Sam?" Carly asked. "Her phone's off. And her mom just slammed the door in my face when I went over there. And...there were expletives. Lots and lots of expletives." And wounds.

"Uh...really?" I asked lamely. Carly narrowed her eyes at me.

"You know something, don't you?"

I sighed. There wasn't any use keeping things from Carly, inquisitive as she was.

"She's in the bathroom."

"Why is she in your bathroom?" Carly asked. I didn't answer, or meet her eyes. Her eyes widened in a way that told me she had a pretty good idea what was going on, and panicked look crossed her face. My eyebrow went up. She knew something I didn't. Her voice went up an octave higher than before. "Sam? Sam!" She made a beeline for the bathroom door, with me not far behind.

Carly knocked on the door hesitantly. "Sam, it's me. I'm back from Yakima. What's going on?"

No answer. Carly pounded louder.

"Sam open the door! NOW!"

Nothing. Carly pounded again. "Sam!"

"Hold on," I said, reaching over Carly's head to the top of the doorframe and produced a key, swiftly unlocking the bathroom door. Carly pushed it open to find Sam standing there in only her bra and jeans studying her injuries in my full-length mirror. Carly and I both gasped. She hadn't told me about her back.

Close to a dozen cigarette burns were dotted all over Sam's back. Some were newer than others, none of them looked older than two weeks. So that was why Sam had nearly missed finals, why she hadn't wanted to take off to the lake that day. She had been keeping a horrible secret.

"Oh Sam." Carly said dejectedly. "It happened again, didn't it?"

Again? Was this a regular occurrence? How long had this been going on? How many people had hurt the poor girl?

Sam looked at the floor quietly, pushing her hair off her face allowing Carly to observe the stitches on her temple.

"Oh my god." Carly breathed, and moved to hug her.

"I can't take it anymore, Carly," Sam said pitifully. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Can we please report it this time?" Carly asked. "Sam, please."

I cleared my throat. "How many times has this happened?"

Sam shrugged. "You mean Bill, or all my mother's other boyfriends too?"

"I'm getting Spencer." Carly headed for the door, but Sam grabbed her arm desperately.

"Carly, please! You promised!" Sam begged.

"I'm gonna have to break this promise, Sam." Carly responded. "You're gonna wind up dead."

"The hell she is," I growled. Carly and Sam looked at me, surprised.

"Put your shirt back on, Sam," I said. "We'll be in the living room." I led Carly out and shut the door behind me, leading her to the couch.

"You knew about this," I said angrily. "And NOW you want to get help?"

"Freddie, I promised! I didn't know what to do, I..."

"Listen, there's not enough counseling in the world to fix her!" I barked. "I thought this was the first time, and now I find out it's been going on for how long?"

"Since I've known her," Carly said. "But I just...god. I'm a horrible friend."

The door creaked open and Sam walked out. She'd been crying again.

"Sit," I said. Sam sat down on the couch next to Carly and I perched on the edge of the coffee table, my legs inches away from Sam's.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do." I said. "You're gonna stay with Carly until we can figure out your next move. Carly, will Spencer..."

"After he sees this mess he will," she commented. "Who stitched you up?" Sam's eyes shifted to me. Carly's mouth turned down slightly and she nodded, impressed. "Good job. The stitches are perfectly straight."

"He barely hurt me at all," Sam commented. "Of course, I was drunk, so..."

"Yeah, speaking of, Spencer needs to take a trip to the ABC store for me. Gotta replace Mom's stash." I remarked. "Look, I know you don't wanna go to the police, Sam, but..."

Sam stood up abruptly. "You're right, I don't."

I stood up too, placing my hands squarely on her shoulders to prevent her from leaving. "Stop trying to walk away from this."

Sam's arms rose up between mine, knocking my hands off her shoulders with her forearms. "Don't tell me what to do Freddork."

"Will you stop being such a hardass and let people help you?" I yelled. "This is bad Sam! This is really, really bad."

Sam slumped down onto the couch, wincing as her back came into contact with the couch cushions.

"I'm gonna need to take a look at your back." I said.

Carly and Sam both shot me looks, easily readable looks. Carly thought I was being a pervert and Sam thought I was needlessly fussing over her.

"You have CIGARETTE BURNS on your BACK! They will get infected! They can't amputate your torso if you get gangrene, Sam."

Sam sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll be in the bathroom."

I looked at Carly. "There's $40 in my wallet in my room. We need replacement liquor, and some more for Sam."

"Oh, can we get peach schnapps?" Carly asked sounding slightly giddy. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay fine. Small bottle of peach schnapps, two bottles of Maker's Mark." I responded. "Should be another $20 in there."

"Okay," Carly responded. She headed to my room and came back moments later "You know, you're really handling this situation...well. I'm glad you're involved now."

"Me too." I said truthfully. "Alright, go get Spencer."

Carly mock-saluted me and bounded out of the apartment, shutting the door behind her. Sighing, I hung my head for a second, still trying to comprehend everything, then stood up and headed to the bathroom.

Sam was silent as she clutched a towel to her chest and sat on the edge of the bathtub. I sat behind her, putting ointment on her back and studying the various marks. She'd had a few scars on her back before that I had been aware of, but she'd just written off from getting into fights. Those looked like the product of getting shoved into things, like furniture. None of the cigarette burns looked older than a week, tops. Her mom's new boyfriend was a sick bastard.

"Are you gonna go to medical school?" She asked suddenly.

"I mean, I always figured I'd go to film school." I replied.

"You'd be a good doctor." she remarked softly. "Nobody's ever..." she trailed off, and I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"I know." I squeezed more ointment on my fingers and applied it to a particularly nasty burn on the small of her back. "It's gonna be okay Sam."

She nodded, jerking in pain from the sudden contact. "I hope so."

"When are you gonna talk about what happened?" I asked her, placing the cap on the ointment and handing her my bathrobe. She pulled it on, tying the belt loosely around her waist.

"I...I can't." she replied.

"Why not?" I questioned.

"Because," she whispered, lip trembling. "I'm Sam Puckett. I can whoop anyone's ass, and I'm...well...I'm Sam Puckett. I can't let this get out. I'll be a target."

"Sam!" I scolded her. "You think I'm gonna sell you out? I'm not gonna tell anyone. Not even Carly if you don't want me to. You can't be strong 100% of the time."

"Says who?"

I stood behind her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look in the mirror. "Says whoever did this to you."

Her lower lip trembled, but she didn't speak. Finally she just turned around and buried her face in my chest. My arms went around her instinctively. I don't know why I did it or what made me decide to do it, but I gently kissed the top of her head. I was prepared for her to hit me, but she just accepted it, not moving a bit.

"Want me to order some Chinese?" I asked. I felt her nod. "Whaddya want?"

"The right side of the menu," she responded, completely serious. I chuckled.

"Okay, let me go see how much cash I have." I let her go and walked to my room to go get more money.

~* Sam *~

I had never felt more at home than I had in Freddie's arms. Things were so different now. He had been a skinny little nerd boy forever, and now here he was, taking care of ME! He had also filled out a lot, ever since he started working out. He was all muscle now, and nothing made me feel safer than having those muscles wrapped around me, holding me against him.

It was getting harder and harder to hold back. I'd kissed him on the fire escape, and the lock-in, but that was tame compared with what I wanted to do. I wanted him to tangle his hands through my hair and hold my head steady as he explored my mouth with his. I wanted our bare skin pressing against each others'. I wanted to be in his bed for more than sleeping.

I couldn't vocalize any of this of course. With everything that had happened, I knew Freddie would just write it off as me being vulnerable. I couldn't deal with HIM rejecting me. I was determined not to cave.

I was instantly pulled out of my thoughts by a loud knock at the door.

"Freddie!" I hollered. "Somebody's here!"

Freddie walked out of his room and pressed his face to the peephole.

"Carly and Spencer," he said to me, before opening the door. Spencer practically rushed in.

"Okay, first of all, for the record, I do not support underage drinking, but Carly told me what happened and...oh my god holy shit!" Spencer exclaimed as his eyes fixed on my face. "Carly, you weren't kidding."

I calmly walked across the room and jerked the bottle of Maker's Mark out of Spencer's hands, twisting the cap off and lifting the bottle to my lips, chugging away, only to have Freddie jerking the bottle out of MY hands. The nerve!

"What the hell Fredward?" I barked.

"Eat something first so you don't puke your brains out later, Puckett." Freddie responded. "Besides we need you sober just for a few more minutes."

"Why?" I snapped, reaching for the bottle. Freddie calmly held it above my head, out of my grasp.

"So we can figure out a plan, Sam," Spencer spoke up, sitting down in an armchair. He paused. "You've gotta go to the police."

I shook my head fervently.

"Why not?" Carly asked.

"Because, they're not gonna believe me anyway." I responded dejectedly, looking at the floor.

"Why wouldn't they believe you? Look at how banged up you are!" Freddie exclaimed.

I took a deep breath. "Because Bill's a cop. He's not just a cop, he's a detective." As soon as I said that, I heard the others moan in exasperation. They all knew what that meant. It was his word against mine. Who would believe me, a teenage miscreant?

"Spencer what do we do?" Carly asked, panicked. "We have to do something!"

"The best we can do is let her stay with us, Carls, and hope her mom doesn't come looking for her."

I snorted inelegantly. "She won't."

~* Freddie *~

Last night I barely had a buzz. Tonight I was having trouble standing upright.

With the replacement booze safely locked away, Sam, Spencer and I had plowed through nearly all of the remaining one and a half bottles of Maker's Mark.

Carly was content to sip her peach schnapps out of a glass with orange juice, demure little thing she was. Still, even though her liquor lacked the kicked of Maker's Mark, she was just as buzzed as the rest of us.

In our defense, this behavior was really out of character for us. Especially Spencer, who normally would never condone his baby sister and her two underage best friends drinking, but news of Sam's situation hit everyone hard. Spencer had simply started pouring shots for himself. Nobody liked to think about someone as tough as Sam getting knocked down to the bottom.

At least we were in good spirits now. Alcohol tends to do that I suppose.

Sam was still being quiet, I noticed, and knowing she'd downed about 6 glasses of whiskey, made it all the more worrying. Carly and Spencer were in the kitchen, making sculptures out of plastic utensils and condiment packets and laughing hysterically. I stumbled over to the couch and plopped down next to Sam.

"So, meeting fancy you here," I slurred. "Wait, I mean, you fancy meeting here. No..."

Sam looked at me and started to laugh. "You're funny when you're drunk."

"First of all," I said, tilting the bottle of liquor to my lips. "I am always funny. Secondly, I...am not drunk." I took another swig.

"Coulda fooled me Fredwina." Sam shot back, taking the bottle out of my hands and lifting it to her own lips. She suddenly looked at me, eyes serious. "Can I talk to you for a minute? In the other room?"

My head lolled back on the couch. "If you can help me get there, sure thing Puckett."

"Alright, come on tough guy." Sam stood up and pulled me to my feet. I wobbled a bit, but she grabbed my arms and held me steady. "Let's go."

She led me back to my room and we collapsed on my bed in a crumpled heap, my full body weight resting on top of her. We stared at each other for a few seconds, silent.

"So what did you want to talk abou-" I was cut off by Sam grabbing me by the back of the head and fervently pressing her lips against mine. My eyebrows arched in surprise but I couldn't stop myself from kissing her back. Her tongue ran across my bottom lip in a tantalizing fashion, and soon our tongues were rubbing against one another's. I moaned as I felt her hips grind against mine as she kissed me deeper.

I loved kissing Sam. But this didn't feel right. She had gotten the shit beat out of her last night, she was drunk, and she was vulnerable. I couldn't do this. God, she was so soft though.

Finally, with every bit of strength I could muster, I pulled my mouth away from hers and sat up, leaving her confused...and pissed off.

"What..." she trailed off.

"Sam, this isn't right. You're drunk."

"So are you," she pointed out.

"That's my point," I replied. "I don't want to take advantage of you!"

"But you're not!" Sam replied, lifting her body up to kiss me again. I turned my head and she simply fell back onto the bed in shock. Taking stock of the situation, she rolled off the bed.

"Screw you, Freddork." She stormed out. Seconds later, I heard the door slam and Spencer and Carly yelling.

Shit.

I high-tailed it out of my bedroom to find the door standing wide open. Carly was gone, but Spencer was standing in the doorway looking down the hall. He turned to look at me.

"What the hell did you do, man?" Spencer asked.

"Nothing! I...she was drunk, and..." I stammered. "She kissed me, and I told her no, I was just trying to-"

"Ah. I see. So it's not what you did, it's what you didn't do," Spencer surmised.

"Wait, what?"

"Are you really that slow, Fred?" Spencer asked giving me a look. "Sam's in love with you."

"Bullshit," I responded, but it came out very weak, catching in my throat.

"She gives you shit all the time, goes out of her way to touch you..."

"...out of her way to hit me," I corrected.

"You never pulled a girl's pigtails on the playground?" Spencer asked with a grin. I gaped at him, and he continued. "The girl let you stick a needle in her head!"

"Her head was nearly split open." I countered.

"I wouldn't let you near my head with a needle if my brains were spilled out all over the Groovie Smoothie!" Spencer replied. "Will you just go after her already?"

I sighed. "She's just gonna punch me in the head."

Spencer shrugged. "Maybe. But her knuckles are all split open so I'm sure she won't hit you as hard."

"Fine! I'm going," With that, I stumbled down the hall, heading for the fire escape.

Carly was leaning her body out the window yelling up the fire escape.

"Sam! Get your butt in here! You're drunk!"

"Leave me alone!" I heard Sam's voice float through the window. I placed a hand on Carly's shoulder, and she turned to look at me. A look that could kill.

"Whatever you did, you really screwed up," she said accusingly.

I rolled my eyes. "Carly, I got this. Go back to your fuzzy navels."

I heard her mutter under her breath something about fuzzy navels being delicious as I squeezed through the window and ascended up the staircase.

I found Sam sitting two flights up, smoking a cigarette.

"When'd you start smoking?" I asked. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Why do you care?" she slurred. "I'm just drunk and vulnerable, right?"

"Yeah, you are." I replied. "So talk to me."

She raised the bottle of liquor she snagged to her lips and took a swig. "About what?"

"About what's going on in your head."

"Nothing," she responded indignantly.

"You're lying," I replied.

"What? Screw you, Fredward," she snapped. I calmly reached out and pried the liquor bottle out of her hands.

"The alcohol has really dulled your wit tonight, hasn't it?" I asked, amused.

"Shut up, you nub!"

I moved closer to her, she shifted uncomfortably.

"So now you don't want to be near me?" I asked.

"I never want to be near you. I hate you! I -" Sam's words are cut off as my lips come crashing down on hers. Stunned for a second, she moans a little bit and kisses me back. I break the kiss after a few moments and kiss her on the forehead.

"There," I say.

"There what?" Sam exclaimed. "Can I get a little dialogue with this mystery kiss here?"

"Well, Sam. I know what you want," I said bravely, prepared to have her hit me at any second. But she doesn't. She just bites her lips and stares at me, silent.

"But with everything that you're dealing with right now..." I trailed off when I caught the miserable expression on her face. She was expecting me to reject her. I tried a different approach, wrapping my arm around her shoulder, pulling her to me. I kissed her on the top of her head.

"Let's talk about this when we're both sober."

"Maybe I don't wanna be sober," Sam grumbled.

"You really want to spend the entire summer before our senior year in a drunken stupor?" I asked her. She huffed.

"Look, you're gonna stay with Carly and Spence, we're gonna get all this worked out. I swear we're gonna protect you Sam."

"I don't want protection!" Sam snarked. I nodded.

"I know you don't. You may not want it, but you do need it."

Sam didn't speak, just rested her head on my shoulder and stared off over the railing at the city spread out before us. Right now, nothing else mattered. She was here with me and I was here with her, and for one brief moment we were both at peace.


	3. Chapter 3: Don't Let Me Down

**A/N: Wellllll...I was going to wait until tomorrow to update...but I saw all the people who subscribed to updates...so...thought I'd hook y'all in some more! Thanx to the reviewers, I'd love a few more reviews! *hint hint***

**Chapter Three  
><strong>**Don't Let Me Down**

~*~ Sam ~*~

I hate hangovers. This new trend of mine, getting wasted every night, is not going to last much longer.

Still, without the alcohol involved, I wouldn't have had the guts to make a move on Freddubsky last night. Even though he did kind of reject me. Sort of? I couldn't tell.

Either way, even though Carls and Spence had opened their door to me, I still opted to stay with Freddo last night. In his bed. Again.

Nothing happened of course. Even though we were both completely wasted, and he did kiss me on the fire escape, nothing else happened. The kid's got uber-strong restraint. Or maybe my seduction methods need practice.

As my eyes finally opened and I looked around, I was aware I was alone in Freddork's room. Yawning, I rolled out of bed and began stumbling towards the kitchen. Christ, I was still drunk!

Just like the previous morning, Freddie was making breakfast. Boy definitely knew the quickest way to my heart – through my stomach. I cleared my throat, and he turned around.

Oh, god.

He was wearing nothing except a pair of pajama pants, and his body was exquisite. The latter years of puberty had served him well. He was much taller than me by now, and his body had filled out, a cornucopia of biceps and abs, topped with gloriously tanned skin.

"Sam, you okay?" he asked, ripping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. I'm fine." I took a seat at the breakfast bar. "What's on the menu today garcon?"

"Well, for starters..." Freddork put down the random kitchen utensil he was holding...I think it's a whisp, or whippy...whisk, that's it, and then walked around behind me.

Moments later his arms were wrapped around me and I could smell him, a mixture of aftershave and mouthwash and coffee and HIM. He smelled AMAZING. He pulled my hair to the side, exposing my neck, and kissed me there, softly. I sighed. Had he not been behind me I would have fallen right off the stool. All my resolve had just melted away. Easy, Sam. Do not attack the gorgeous boy behind you.

"Morning," he said into my ear in a breathy rumbling whisper. I bit my lip, feeling my pulse begin to quicken. Then, just like that, he went back to the kitchen counter. I was acutely disappointed, but I watched him rummage around for a bit until he turned back to me, setting out coffee, advil, and a water bottle, just like yesterday.

"You've gotta be feeling pretty bad today, Puckett." he said. I shrugged.

"What about you?" I finally asked.

"I've been better that's for sure." he replied. "Now, may I interest you in a waffle?"

"Silly question, Benson. I'll take two," I replied. He smiled that adorable crooked smile of his and turned back to the waffle iron he had been fiddling with.

I wondered briefly if he could feel my eyes burning into him, but then my eyes traveled down his well-muscled back to...something else and I completely forgot about whether or not he knew what I was up to. The boy really did have a fabulous ass, and the gray pajama bottoms he wore hugged them quite well. It was probably nothing but pure muscle. I could imagine us making out, my hands traveling down his back, and then...

"So, let me know when you're done looking at my butt," he called over his shoulder. I must have turned three or four different shades of crimson, but I responded by launching a roll of paper towels at his head. I could hear him snicker.

"Since when do you give me so much shit?" I asked. He turned around, leaning against the counter to look at me. God, he was magnificent. No chest hair, which I preferred, but he did have little trail of hair descending from underneath his navel over those luscious abs of his to...oh my god. His pajama bottoms were so low slung. I could see the beginning of those wonderful v-shaped pelvic muscles I didn't know the name of. I wanted to run my tongue all over that boy! I prayed a silent prayer he couldn't read my thoughts. He had to have known what this was doing to me. Did he have any clue how sexy he was?

"Since when do you let me get away with it?" he mused, a hint of mischief in his eyes. I said nothing, just rested my chin in my hand so it could cover up the goofy smile of mine that would just NOT go away.

He changed the subject, I guess he could sense I was a little uncomfortable. "How's all the..." he made a circular motion with his finger around his face, of course referring to my injuries.

I shrugged. "It hurts." I watched his eyebrows furrow in concern.

"Gonna let me take a look after breakfast?" he asked. I nodded solemnly.

"At some point I'm gonna have to get my clothes," I pointed out.

"I'll drive you over there in a few hours," he responded while plating waffles.

"Freddie, I'm impressed. Since when did you turn into Captain-Save-White-Trash?"

"For starters, you are NOT white trash, Sam. And, well..." Freddie shrugged, setting the plate full of waffles in front of me. "If I feel like I'm needed, I help. If not..." he shrugged again. "You've just never needed my help before."

"No," I said softly. "Just too prideful to admit it. I wouldn't be able to handle all this without you, Freddie."

To that, he leaned across the breakfast bar and kissed me softly on the forehead, avoiding the bruises, and then simply pulled away. I gave him a look that was half grateful, half longing.

"I won't get physical with you until all your wounds heal," he said suddenly, surprising me.

"What?"

"However long that takes."

"Couple of days, tops," I replied, feeling my temperature rise. God, he said UNTIL. That meant he wanted to get physical with me! Here's hoping for rapid healing time!

"No," he walked around behind me again. "See, this one right here," he ran his fingertips lightly over my lips, right across the scabbed over cut. Oh, my GOD. "Three or four days. The bruises, maybe a week. We'll take the stitches out in about three weeks. But I'm talking about these," his hand trailed from my face down to my chest, right between my currently braless breasts, tracing small circles over my breastplate. Warning, warning! I felt like I was going to pass out! My heart was beating a mile a minute and I know he could feel it. "The wounds in here, those are gonna take awhile." His hand trailed to my shoulder and his other hand went to the other side, massaging my shoulder muscles, relaxing me. I sighed, melting into his touch.

"I know you'll be okay, Samantha," he whispered in my ear. Oh god, he was calling me by my full name, and it was making me feel all kinds of things. Naughty things. "But I'm not gonna rush you."

I nodded. "Okay."

He tilted my chin back so I was looking up at him, and brought his head down to brush his lips against mine. It was divine. And then it was over.

"So eat. I'll look at your back after you're done then I'll take you to your house. I'm gonna go get dressed." he said.

I couldn't even respond because I was still so caught off-guard.

~*Freddie*~

"Ow ow fuckety ow ow FUCK!" Sam hollered as she jerked away.

"Be still!" I scolded her. I grabbed her shoulder and held it in place as I pulled off the bandage at her lower back covering the worst cigarette burn. She jerked and I grimaced. I must have pulled the bandage off too swiftly. The burn was horrible. It was an inverted cone shape, burned deep into her pale skin. The top layer of skin looked almost gone! I couldn't tell if she had fell on a lit one...or if someone had really pressed a cigarette hard enough into her back to cause that kind of a wound. Either way my blood boiled just thinking about it. It had gone from an angry red to a chalky white, which told me 1) it was a third degree burn, just as I had suspected, and 2) it was starting to heal. Thank God. I checked carefully for signs of infection, then picked up a q-tip, squeezing the ointment onto the tip. It was a deep wound and I had to get the ointment into the very bottom of it. My arm went around her waist.

"Squeeze my hand, this is really gonna hurt," I warned her.

She braced herself, and I pressed the q-tip into the wound, as gently as possible but with enough pressure to really get in there. She let out a small, short shriek of pain, grabbing my hand so hard I had to grit my teeth. I pulled my hand away to apply the bandage across her back.

"There," I said. "That one's done."

She took a deep breath, recovering from the sharp pain. "That shit hurt! I guess I should be glad you're mother's an overbearing weirdo," Sam remarked. "Otherwise you wouldn't know anything about this stuff." I nudged her playfully.

"Told you my nerdiness comes in handy, Puckett," I responded. I continued applying ointment to various spots on her back. She had her head bowed, clutching the towel against her chest. After I placed the cap on the ointment, my hands went to her shoulders, rubbing them. She made pleasant little mewling sounds. My thumbs began working at the base of her neck, feeling how tight the muscles there were.

"So tense, Puckett," I teased, applying a little more pressure. The sounds went from little sighs of pleasure to soft but audible moans. God, I LOVED when she made those noises. I wanted to do other things to elicit those sweet sounds from her. But not yet. "Feel good?"

"So good," she replied breathily, making something stir in my lower body. I stood up abruptly.

"Well, there you have it," I said, clearing my throat. "If you wanna get dressed now, I'll take you to get your stuff."

She looked at me quizzically. I could tell she was wondering if I was just messing with her.

"Remember what I said." I planted a kiss on top of her head and then swiftly exited the bathroom.


	4. Chapter 4: All Things Must Pass

**Warning: Lots of bad language, cuz Freddie. Is. Pissed.**

**Chapter Four:**  
><strong>All Things Must Pass<strong>

~* Sam *~

As I sat in the passenger seat of Freddie's car, my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I fiddled with them nervously, to make the shaking less apparent. I tried to focus. On the radio, the scenery, on Freddie. Anything but the thought of going back to my house.

I felt Freddie's right hand cover my left one, his eyes never leaving the road. He knew how anxious I was, and he also knew that talking wasn't going to help. But his warm hand on top of mine, that helped. His bigger hand clasped around mine, picking it up, lifting it to his mouth, and kissing the palm. Oh, geez. Did he even realize the effect he had on me? Did he not know that everything he was doing was making me fall for him even harder every second?

"Your hands are shaking," he murmured, still not letting go of my hand. "Relax. It'll be over soon, and I'll get you out of here, and then we'll go get a smoothie or something."

I breathed out slowly through my mouth, sounding something akin to the Big Bad Wolf. "Okay. Relax. Relax." I repeated the words over and over like it was some sort of mantra.

We had reached the entrance to my trailer park, and Freddie slowed the car to a stop. "How do you wanna do this? Creep up to the window and sneak in?"

I nodded. It was the quickest, easiest, and most painless way. "Park behind those dumpsters."

Freddie obeyed and shut the car off, turning to me. "Ready?"

"No," I responded. "But I gotta do this."

"I'm here," he reminded me.

"I know."

God, how could I forget? I never wanted him to be away from me!

I sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this. Wait," I paused. "Give me a second."

"What's up?" he asked, watching me open the glove compartment and pull out a screwdriver. "You're not gonna stab anyone with that are you? I did fill out a warranty card for that, they can trace it..."

"Fredweeb! Shut up!" I waved the screwdriver at him menacingly. "I'm not going to stab anybody with a screwdriver! So amateur!"

"Then what are you doing?" he responded, getting out of the car and following me to the back of it.

"Just shut up!" I ordered. "And who fills out a warranty card for a screwdriver? Dork!" I wasn't looking at his face, but I knew he was rolling his eyes at me. We could end up screwing like wild animals, and I'd still give him shit, and he'd still roll his eyes. I didn't want it any other way.

I crouched down in front of the license plate and made quick work of unscrewing it from the car, then threw it into the backseat. Freddie looked dubious.

"Trust me, you'll thank me later," I responded. "Let's go."

We crept around to the side of the trailer, my window was still open, luckily. Prying it open always made a lot of noise, something risky, especially now. I turned to Freddie and pressed a finger to my lips. He nodded. I climbed in first, Freddie right behind me. I sighed. My was in the state I left it when I fled, right down to the broken bottles, singed carpet...and my own blood on the walls. I was mortified knowing that Freddie was seeing it, because I knew he'd be asking questions later. I looked at him, reminding him to be quiet, and quickly began gathering clothes and other personal belongings. I was almost done when the bedroom door flung open, revealing my very drunken mother. God, no, not in front of Freddie.

"So," she slurred. "The little whore's come home." My face burned knowing that my own mother – UNMother – was ripping me apart in front of Freddie, and it was only going to get worse.

"I'm not a whore," I said quietly.

"Is this Frankie? The one you're in love with?" My face went pale. Freddie wasn't an idiot, he knew 'Frankie' meant 'Freddie' because my UNMother was a drunk. And she'd just declared I was in love with him. In FRONT of him! I tried to gain control of the situation.

"His name is Freddie," I said. "And how would you know who I'm in love with? You're always passed out!"

"I should have had an abortion," my UNMother said. I blinked back tears. I heard Freddie suck in a sharp breath, as if he was trying to keep angry words from spilling out of his mouth.

"Look, I'm getting my shit and then I'm leaving," I said, carefully backing away, nearly backing right into Freddie.

"Like hell you are! You think you can hit Bill and get away with it? He's a fucking cop!" she spat. "Billy! The lil whore's here!"

Oh no! Not again! He was going to kill me, and then he would hurt Freddie. I had to get out! I had to get Freddie out!

"Go, go, go!" I yelled at Freddie. "Out the window, now!" I didn't want Bill to see him, I didn't want them to be able to recognize Freddie. We heard Bill thundering down the hall, a clicking metal sound accompanying it. Like the loading of a gun. My eyes widened, heart pounding, adrenaline shooting through me like some sort of drug, the bad kind, the kind you'd get twenty years for in the pen.

Freddie grabbed my bag with one hand and me with the other, and pretty much threw himself out of the window just as Bill burst into the room. Christ, he was like a ninja! He helped me, more like dragged me, to my feet. From ninjas to Olympic track stars, we sprinted at top speed, looking back to see Bill sticking his head out my bedroom window.

"You're dead you little bitch!" he shouted. I was done for if I didn't get both of our asses to that car!

"Get to the car!" I yelled frantically. Freddie grabbed my arm and practically threw me into it through the driver's side, climbing in after me and cranking it up. Tires squealed and rubber burned as we flew out of there like bats out of hell. Made it! Safe! My heart was pounding like hell.

Then suddenly, a loud bang, and then a shattering sound. I screamed. The back window was gone, shards of glass flew everywhere.

No.

"Fuck!" Freddie yelled, pressing the gas even harder. "That crazy bastard's shooting at us!"

"We need to go the opposite way! We need to take a detour!" I yelled, panicking. "He's gonna find us, he's gonna find me, he's gonna..." Oh no. No, Sam, NO! Control yourself! I tried to swallow, but I couldn't. No. My stomach flip flopped, I felt my tongue go stiff, and then...oh no.

"Sam?"

I felt my body lurch forward and I promptly threw up all over the floorboards of Freddie's prized automobile. My face was crimson. I just got Freddie SHOT AT and now I had ralphed in his car! At this point, the prospect for romance with my beloved nerd was bleak. But then Freddie began rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. "You okay?" He didn't even mention the vomit paintjob.

I shook my head weakly. "No," I said, my tongue still stiff from puking. "I'm not." I felt like I was gonna be sick again. "Freddie..."

"As soon as I can stop, we will, okay?" Freddie said. "Just bare with me for a little while. You feel dizzy?"

"Yes," I said weakly.

Freddie nodded. "It's okay. You'll be okay."

Freddie was just being nice. Nothing was okay. Especially not between him and I! I knew I had screwed up the only GOOD thing in my life. I blinked back tears. Come on Puckett, you just puked in front of him, DO NOT cry in front of him too!

"I'm sorry!" I blurted out. "I'm sorry I got you into this! I'm sorry about everything!"

He shook his head, still rubbing my back. "Don't worry about it. Let me worry about you. You don't worry about anything, okay? Just relax for me, Sammy."

I nodded, gulping breaths of air. Sammy. Why didn't it bother me when he called me that? Oh yeah, because I'm in love with that beautiful nerd. Please, God. Please let him be in love with me too.

He spoke again. "We gotta get off the road, I'm driving without a tag and the back window's been shot out." He pulled into a gas station, backing up towards a wooded area, then got out of the car and walked around to my side, opening the door. "Come on out. Go to the bathroom and clean up, I'll get you some water."

I nodded weakly, too distraught to argue, and began walking towards the gas station, legs trembling. I hoped I could make it to the bathroom before I puked again. Or cried. Or both.

I stumbled into the bathroom stall, and then, bam. Shut down.

Like a computer program, my emotions turned off.

~* Freddie *~

I made a frantic call to Spencer, and within twenty minutes he was helping me clean out the inside of the car. Carly was inside the gas station with Sam, presumably trying to calm her down. I hoped it was working.

Sam had managed to get herself so worked up that she threw up all over the passenger side of my car. I didn't even think about how gross it was, all I was really thinking about was getting the evidence out of the car so she didn't feel worse. I stood up, looking over the top of the car at Spencer.

"Spray," I said, holding my hand up. A few seconds later Spencer tossed me a can of spray cleaner. I caught it and nearly used the entire bottle.

"Paper towels."

Another solid catch. I finally got the car spic and span, then as an added measure I sprayed the inside of it with the extra bottle of cologne I kept in my glove compartment. I'm sure Sam wouldn't mind, I'd already caught her sniffing me a few times. I shut the passenger door and stood up, resting my forehead against the top of it, trying to put the recent events out of my mind.

Spencer was pissed, pacing back and forth by the car. But he wasn't half as pissed at I was. I wanted to kill the guy. I was willing to cross every moral boundary I had, and either pay someone to do it, or do it myself. Pity he was a cop. I've seen enough crime thrillers to know that cop killers never succeeded. Unless it was other cops. But I was too young to join the Police Academy, so THAT was out of the question. Focus, Benson. Back to helping Sam.

"He shot at us. He had every intention of killing her." I said in a low tone that was barely above a growl.

Spencer responded to my statement by audibly growling and punching the brick wall of the gas station angrily. "Fuck!" he shouted in pain, grimacing, as his other hand wrapped around his fist in pain. "I'm gonna kill that guy!"

I wanted to do the same. But that obviously wasn't going to happen, and revenge wasn't going to help Sam.

"I'm gonna go check on her. Watch the car. Block the plates," I grunted, sounding oddly like Sam. Guess the girl was rubbing off on me, roughing up my edges a bit. I walked inside the gas station. It was one of those super size gas stations with booths and made to order pretzels and sandwiches. Sam's favorite. She had once said that any place with over 50 hot dog toppings earned a permanent place in her heart. I had made a mental note to keep my fridge better stocked after that. I spotted Sam and Carly in the very last booth. Sam had her head laid down on the table, facing away from me, and Carly was sitting next to her, trying in vain to soothe her best friend. I walked over to them, and Carly looked up at me.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," I responded. "Trade with me?"

"Sure." she promptly got up and I slid into the booth next to Sam, my arm going around her protectively. "Still feeling sick?" I asked her in a low voice. Sam didn't respond. "Sam?"

"She's been like this since I got here. I think she's like...catatonic." Carly said, biting her fingernails the way she always did when she was really bothered about something.

"Sam," I whispered. "Sam." She raised her head slowly to look at me, eyes dazed and glossy. Like she was in some far-off universe deep within her mind. She didn't speak, just laid her head on my shoulder. Shit. What if she was in shock? Was she going to have a mental breakdown?

Fuck that guy! I want to kill him!

"We need to get her back to Bushwell," Carly said, jerking me out of my revenge fantasies. Sick ones. Quentin Tarantino himself would wash my brain out with soap if he knew what I was thinking right now!

"I know," I replied. My hand went to Sam's face, stroking her cheek softly, trying to break the hypnotized state she seemed to be in. "Sam, it's time to go, come on." She didn't move. I grabbed her by her forearms and slid her out of the booth. "Come on." I pulled her up into a standing position and watched in horror as her knees buckled. "Sam!" I caught her in my arms. Carly looked at me with a pained expression and I knew we were both feeling the same emotion: helplessness.

"You gotta walk, Sammy," I said in her ear, desperately. Sam, please snap out of it! "Come on, I'll help you." I ended up half carrying the tiny blonde out of the gas station, Spencer still poised in front of the car. Carly looked down at his bloody hand and up at him quizzically.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked, horrified. "You punched a hobo, didn't you?"

"Picked a fight with a wall," Spencer responded gruffly. "Fred, we'll see you at the apartment. Get her back safe."

I nodded, helping Sam into the car. I leaned the seat back for her so she could recline, shutting the door. I walked to the other side, hopped in, and started the engine.

As soon as I got Sam into my apartment, she walked to the sofa, face frozen in a blank, emotionless stare, hugged her knees tight to her chest, and then without warning broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. I was absolutely aghast...and terrified. This was worse than when I found her out in the hall! This was worse than anything I had ever seen! I couldn't get her to stop crying. I couldn't get her to speak. I couldn't get her to do anything. She just sat there, her arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth. She wouldn't meet my eyes when my face was inches from hers. She wouldn't respond to my touch. I was beside myself with the emotions that were overtaking me.

I watched her breaking down for close to twenty minutes, and finally, desperately, yelled out, "Sam, just tell me what to do!"

More sobs.

"Sam, please!" I sat down next to her, grabbing her hands and shaking them. "Sam, come back to me!"

"He tried to rape me!" she blurted out. That was the first words she'd spoken in over an hour. "He tried to rape me! He burned me! He hit me! He kicked me! He beat me with that gun! He broke me, Freddie! He fucking broke me!" she gasped for air between her sobs. I grabbed her face and turned it towards mine.

"And I am here to put you back together," I said firmly. "I'm not leaving you. Not now, not ever."

I didn't want to think about what she meant when he said "tried to rape me". I didn't want to think about how far he'd got. I didn't want to think about whether others had tried.

But it was the only thing I could think about.

The brick wall that was Samantha Puckett had just crumbled, like the ancient walls of Rome themselves. I didn't know if I could ever build it back up. I didn't know if it was possible, and I didn't know if she would let me try.

"God, Freddie..." she gasped. "Freddie..."

"Shhh." I held her in my arms tight. "It's alright. I've got you now." And I won't let you go, I added silently.

She grew silent. Finally I picked her up and carried her into my bedroom, laying her down on the bed. "You need to rest."

"Don't leave me," she whispered. "Please."

I laid down next to her, my arms wrapped around her tightly. "Never."

"Just hold me for a little while." My Sam was exhausted.

"As long as you want." I kissed her cheek softly. "Relax. Go to sleep. I'm here."

"I know." she said softly, closing her eyes.

Finally, she was asleep. But I kept my promise. I didn't leave. I didn't let go. I never would.


	5. Chapter 5: And I Love Her

**A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews everyone! Chugging along with this story, I have another less serious story in the works but my power went out last night and I lost most of it, so it's back to square one! This chapter's a little short but I'm just setting the stage for a few surprises hehe. Enjoy! **

**Chapter Five:**

**And I Love Her**

~* Freddie *~

Sam had been asleep for almost three hours. I let her, she needed it.

Spencer and Carly had been in my apartment for about fifteen minutes, after I sent a text to them that I had calmed her down. Carly, of course, chastised me for waiting so long, but Spencer came down on Carly, reminding her that Sam could be easily overwhelmed right now and didn't need to be around a bunch of people. We were all sitting in my apartment living room, still stunned by the day's events. Because that son of a bitch hurt my Sam.

"What do we do?" Carly asked.

"What can we do?" I responded. "Other than just be there for her." Because killing cops who touch little girls is illegal.

"I don't know, but...he can't just get away with it! She could've died, Freddie!" Because that bastard tried to shoot her.

"I don't want to think about that," I said softly. "Spence, how's the hand?"

"I'll live," he replied. He paused, the non-injured hand over his mouth. "Okay, so, we have a cop who likes to beat up and try to rape teenage girls. And I have no fucking clue how we're gonna fix that."

"I just wanna fix her!" I blurted out. "She's not the same Sam!" My beautiful, untamed wild child was gone, and in her place was a fearful little girl.

"She'll come back, Freddie," Spencer said reassuringly. "She will. Just be patient."

"Thought I heard you nubs talking about me," a familiar voice announced. Carly, Spencer, and myself all turned to see Sam walking into the room, hair disheveled and eyes still red and swollen from all that crying. She couldn't hide the fact that she had fallen apart today. But the facade was back up, which meant her brain was engaged. And that was a very good sign. She sat down next to me tentatively, so close she was nearly sitting on top of me. My arm went around her. She tried to move closer.

"Sam, are you okay?" Carly asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Minor breakdown, that's all." She was trying so hard to be nonchalant. "I'm hungry."

I stood up. "I'll order a pizza." I was in no mood to cook right now.

She nodded, pretending not to care about anything. "Bacon and ham, extra ham."

"You got it, Miss Puckett," I responded, and began dialing the number of the nearest pizza delivery place.

~* Sam *~

After I had eaten half a pizza, Frednubs had all but shooed Spence and Carls out of his apartment. I know he wanted to talk about my outburst in the middle of his apartment a few hours ago. And my mental breakdown. And my catatonic state. And me puking all over his car. But I didn't want to talk about any of that, and I wasn't going to.

I noticed the lights had gone down, the only light that lit the living room were those battery operated candles. There were about eight of them in total, all operated by a remote. I looked around and then looked at Freddie.

"What's going on nub?" I asked.

"Take off your shirt," he said quietly.

"But you already messed with my back today, Fredweird." I replied. He walked towards me, staring me down.

"I know," he responded. He sat down on the couch next to me and physically turned my body so it was facing away from him. God he was strong. And then he started playing with my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp. It felt SO good. I purred. Like a cat. Embarrassing.

"Just relax," he whispered into my ear, sending a flush of color across my cheeks as I realized his husky voice turned me on. I'd been shot at today; being turned on couldn't be normal. Maybe this was some weird form of post traumatic stress disorder. His hands moved to the back of my neck, massaging it like he'd done earlier in the day. In spite of everything, I was beginning to relax a little bit.

Suddenly, his hands moved to the hem of my shirt and swiftly pulled it over my head.

"Wha-?" I gaped at him.

"Lay down," he told me, standing up to give me room. "On your stomach."

"Why?" I asked, slightly alarmed.

"Trust me Puckett. I promise I'm not gonna hurt you."

Slightly wary, remembering this morning's incident with the q-tip, I laid on my stomach across his couch and eyed him curiously as he settled down next to me. His hands began kneading the tightly wound muscles of my back, careful to move around the burns and cuts. Oh, wow. I loved his hands. A small moan escaped my lips, despite my best efforts to keep it hidden.

"Relax." he kissed my shoulder blade softly. "I got you, baby."

At the sound of 'baby', my eyes popped open and my head turned to stare at him in shock. Baby? Please don't let this be a sick joke. He simply kissed me on my forehead and told me to relax again.

The idea of trying to relax after being shot at was nearly laughable, but whatever he was doing, it was working. The tension in my muscles started to melt away until my muscles just felt like jello. Oh, man. Please don't ever stop touching me.

"Feel good?" he murmured, brushing stray strands of hair off my back.

"Mmmm," I moaned.

"Good." His hands moved lower, skipping over my shorts and massaging my legs. "So tense," he whispered. "We can't have that, can we?"

But I'm tense because your hands just grazed my thigh. And because I want you do it again.

"No..." I purred.

"Is this helping you?" he asked. I nodded.

"I feel safe with you," I said in a soft voice. "So safe."

"Good. That's how I want you to feel, Samantha." He kissed my bare shoulder. Oh god. Anyone else who called me by that name would get a well-deserved punch to the face, but it DID something to me when he called me Samantha. Something good.

Despite everything that had happened, just in the last 72 hours, right now, with Freddie's hands all over me, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on the wall, the soft music, and oh god, Freddie's hands. Right now, I was in absolute heaven. But I wanted more. NEEDED more. I flipped over, surprising Freddie.

"Freddie," I breathed, my chest heaving up and down. His eyes went to my bra-covered chest and then back to my eyes. I could tell he was mentally scolding himself.

"Sam," he responded, but his voice rose to more of a warning than a breathy wanton whisper like mine. "Don't do this. Not in the state you're in." The only state I was in right now was arousal.

"Freddie please, just...please." I reached out for him. "Take my mind off all of this." I needed his mouth on my mouth. His tongue on my tongue. His body pressed against my body. I sat up, my hands on his waist, pulling him down towards me.

"Please," I beg him again, staring into his eyes. I could tell he was engaging in a battle of wills in his mind. He didn't want to take advantage of me while I was vulnerable, I got that. But if the boy had any idea how many hot fantasies had been seared into my cerebral cortex ever since the first time we kissed, he'd know that this had nothing to do with vulnerability. I just wanted him. I just needed him.

Freddie sighed, and without warning, his lips came crashing down on mine passionately. I moaned into his mouth as I leaned back into the couch, him following me. Finally. Oh, he tasted so good. Without the alcohol taste from last night, he tasted even better. I kissed him eagerly, my hands running over his biceps. God, they were so hard. He must spend all of his free time working out! My leg crept around his back and locked on. He drew in a deep breath, his tongue working its way in and out of my mouth. The cut on my mouth hurt, but I didn't care. It was the most exquisitely pleasurable pain I had ever felt. Freddie's fingers tangled through my hair, holding my head steady for his mouth's hungry onslaught. I could feel the rumble of him groaning against my lips. I moaned again.

We made out like that for I don't know how long, except I know it wasn't long enough. Finally Freddie tore his mouth away from mine, gasping for air. "Dammit, Sam!" he growled. "Don't make me lose control with you, please." He quickly sat up. I laid there, perplexed, confused, feeling rejected.

"I don't want it to go any further until we can get that bastard out of your head," he said before kissing me. "I don't want you confusing him with me." Did he think I was a looney? Freddie, love of my life! Bill, sick twisted bastard! There was no way I could ever confuse the gentle way Freddie touched me with the searing pain of Bill's cigarettes.

"Freddork!" I exclaimed. "I could never..."

"Sam, please?" he pleaded with me. "Please. I can't control myself forever. I want you to be healthy before we go down that road. I want you to be the Sam I know and love." L word? Love? Did he say that? Or was it a hallucination?

I stared at him. "Love?" Oh, the way he looked into my eyes. Like he could see into my soul. My dark, twisted, artery-clogged-from-too-much-red-meat soul.

"Sam, you've been so, so blind. I love you. I've loved you since the first time I kissed you," he breathed. "I-"

I cut him off by pressing my lips against his passionately, I can hear him whimper and I know his resolve is caving, so I stop. "I'm sorry. I'll stop." For now.

"Thank you." he said. "Just, try to understand where I'm coming from. I don't want to hurt you."

I nodded. "I know."

He got up off the couch. "Roll back over, I'll finish your backrub."

I obliged. At least I could still feel his hands on my body. That was heaven.

And at least I finally knew.

Fredward Benson LOVED ME. Me! I beamed as I buried my face in the couch, hiding my stupid grin from the drop dead gorgeous nerd who had saved me.

I loved him too.


	6. Chapter 6: This Bird Has Flown

**A/N: Normal people probably update once a week or so. But I'm in the middle of a huge writer's block with my "real" writing. Until the block lifts I'll just have to make due with writing Seddie fanfics. If you've read, PLEASE review! (I crave approval haha) Sidenote: Why must Freddie's biceps be so delicious? **

Chapter Six  
>Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)<p>

~* Freddie *~

I'm sure Carly and Spencer were wondering why I hadn't called, but honestly, I didn't care at the moment. Sam and I were currently laying in my bed, spooning, the tv blaring but neither one of us really watching. She kept making these little noises that sounded like pure happiness, and I couldn't stop playing with her hair, giving her little kisses on her neck and face.

She had been so tense earlier I was half afraid she was going to snap. I spent quite a long time kneading and massaging her tight back muscles, and after I'd loosened them up I had lightly kissed all those horrible burns and cuts on her back. She had sighed softly, and I did the same with the marks on her beautiful face. All I cared about was getting my poor Sam back to normal.

I had complained for years about the girl tormenting me, but this latest bout had seemed to knock out all the spark left in her. I missed the fire. I had to get her back. Back to herself.

We were ripped out of our happy little universe by a loud, urgent knocking at the door.

"Freddie! Sam!" it was Carly.

"Sam! Freddie!" and Spencer.

Sam and I looked at each other quizzically, pulling ourselves out of my comfortable bed. I walked over to the door, and as soon as I unlocked the door they were opening it and pushing themselves inside.

"What in the name of Gibby is going on?" Sam snapped.

"Turn on the tv, right now!" Carly said, searching frantically for the remote. She found it and the tv clicked on, Carly turning it to the local news.

"Shit! That's me!" Sam said. We both sat on the couch, dumbfounded.

"Sixteen year old Samantha Puckett has been reported missing. Puckett's gained international notoriety as co-star of the web series iCarly, but hasn't been heard from in three days. Her location is not known. Any information you have about Samantha Puckett can be reported to Channel 12 news or the Seattle Police Department. We go now to her mother, Pamela Puckett."

Sam and I looked at each other in horror.

"Sam, baby, mommy misses you so much! I'm worried about you baby I just want you to come home! Please, anyone, help me find my daughter! I miss her so much!" I watched Sam's mother fake cry on live television. I was furious. She had called her daughter a whore not six hours ago and here she was pretending to care about her. I know it was technically wrong to hit a woman, but...damn.

When the interview switched over to Bill, in his police uniform, I switched the television off. "That's enough of that."

"Fuck!" Sam cried out, startling everyone. "What do I do?"

"God this is bad," Spencer moaned.

"Why? Can you guys get in trouble for this?" Sam asked.

"Aiding and abetting," I said flatly. My hands covered my face and I groaned. "Oh, why does this keep getting worse?"

"Oh..." Carly sounded so dejected, then suddenly, "Shit!" She kicked my coffee table angrily. "This is bullshit!" I'd never seen Carly so angry before, but she was fuming. I just felt numb. Reality had sent in.

"What do I do?" Sam asked me. I shook my head. For once in my life I had no clue, and I told her that.

"Look, let's just...we'll figure it out in the morning, okay?" I responded.

She nodded, biting her lips. I looked over at Spencer, who looked back at me. The same look. Blind rage.

Sam and I went to sleep that night together, her body curled against me like a sweet kitten, but when I woke up the next morning she wasn't there. I searched around the apartment for her. Nowhere. I started to get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I walked across the hallway and banged on Carly's door, repeatedly. A few minutes later, Carly answered the door sleepily.

"Freddie," she slurred, still out of it. "What's wrong?"

"Is Sam here?" I asked. That woke her up. He eyes widened.

"No...she's not with you?" Carly asked. I shook my head. We stared at each other for awhile, and our eyes seemed to widen at the same time. We both knew what she had done.

"Spencer!" Carly turned and made a beeline for Spencer's bedroom. "Spencer!"

~* Sam *~

I paid the cab driver and walked into the Greyhound station, careful to be sure my blonde hair was tucked carefully under my hat and adjusting my sunglasses. I couldn't risk anyone seeing me.

This was the hardest decision I'd ever have to make, leaving Carly and Freddie behind. But I had to do it. I'd get found eventually, they'd be in trouble, I'd have to go back to my mom's and her bastard cop boyfriend.

I had pulled Freddie into a world that he didn't need to be in. The kind of world where girls got beat up, people got shot at, and warrants were routinely issued. I couldn't keep putting him through this. He had an actual future. I didn't.

I dragged my heavy bag behind me to the sales counter. The attendant didn't even look up. Lazy bastard, I hoped he was only getting minimum wage.

"Where to?" he asked in a monotone voice.

"Las Vegas," I replied.

"One way or round trip?"

I bit my lip and took a deep breath, turning towards the door. I guess I half expected, or at least wanted, Freddie to be standing there. I wanted to be back in his apartment, in his bed, in his arms. But I couldn't.

I had to leave.

"One way."


	7. Chapter 7: Searchin'

**A/N: I'm completely blown away by the awesome reviews! =D You guys are just too sweet!**

**Chapter Seven  
><strong>**Searchin'**

~* Carly *~

It had been three weeks since Sam disappeared, and I was still inconsolable. She just vanished into thin air, and I had no idea where she was. I didn't even know where to start.

It was obvious. She had run away because she thought she was going to spare us the trouble. But it had only made the trouble worse. Without her, nothing was the same. I couldn't even bare to do iCarly without her, Freddie and I had simply put up a 'hiatus' banner on the website, and made an agreement that we wouldn't do another show without her. If she didn't come back, then we'd never do another show. I had a sick feeling iCarly was over, and Sam was gone forever.

Freddie was oddly stoic. He didn't show any emotion at all. Not sadness, anger, despair. Nothing. He'd come to my apartment every day, sit down with his laptop, and wouldn't move until he started nodding off. Then I'd send him home, and he'd turn around and do the same thing the very next day. It was maddening.

Finally, I blurted out, "Don't you care about Sam at all?"

Freddie looked up at his computer and glared at me.

"You're not looking for her! You haven't tried to call her! You haven't done anything! You just LET HER GO!" I screamed, all the rage that had been building up for weeks finally pouring out of me. "How can you just sit there and play on your damned laptop all day?"

Freddie stood up so fast the chair he was sitting in clattered to the ground, his jaw set in a firm line. I knew he was about to let me have it, the look in his eye was pure anger. I had called him out, accusing him of not caring about her, even though I know he did. It was obvious. I couldn't help it though, I was just so upset. So alone. But before he could start, there was a loud knock at the door. We both looked at the door, then at each other. My heart was pounding as I mentally crossed my fingers. Please, please, please...

I walked to the door and pulled it open.

"Hey Carly!"

My shoulders slumped. "Gibby. Hey."

Gibby walked in with that big goofy Gibby grin. He was wearing a Las Vegas t-shirt, a Las Vegas visor, and a ridiculous looking pair of Hawaiian shorts. I couldn't hide my disappointment, but in his Gibby way, he didn't notice.

"Yo, Fred!" he called out to Freddie. Freddie merely grunted, picked his chair back up, and went back to his laptop. Gibby shrugged. Ugh, he was just so...Gibby.

"Guess you're back from Las Vegas," I said, trying to be polite even though I was completely disappointed. I had been hoping against hope it'd be Sam at the door. I had gone from in denial to completely delusional. Who was I kidding? Sam was gone and she wasn't coming back.

"Yep. It was awesome! Even though I couldn't gamble. Or go in any clubs. I still had fun." His face turned serious. "Have you guys heard from Sam yet?"

I shook my head sadly. "No. I'm really scared she's gone forever."

"I can't believe it, man. Sam, gone! You know, I think it was messing with my head when I found out, because I swore I saw a girl who looked just like Sam in Vegas...except she had black hair."

Freddie whirled around in his chair. "What did you say?" he asked.

"I'm sure it was just my imagination, but man! It was like a carbon copy of her!" Gibby said. "She was even stuffing her face full of buffet food just like Sam. It was creepy. Like Twilight Zone creepy."

I looked at Freddie, he looked at me, and I could both tell we were thinking the exact same thing.

"Spencer!" I hollered, running into his room.

"Yeah, what's up, Carls?" he asked, rifling through his dresser for something.

"Gibby said he saw a girl who looked like Sam in Las Vegas."

"Why would Sam go to Vegas, Carly? Come on, this is Gibby we're talking about here." He closed the dresser drawer and turned to face me.

"But what if Gibby's actually right for once? Shouldn't we go look for her?" I asked.

Spencer placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Look kiddo, I know she's your best friend. But Sam's gone. I don't think she's gonna come back."

I shook my head. "I can't give up on her. I'm gonna go talk to Gibby, pry more info out of him." I spun on my heel and walked back out into the living room to find Gibby by himself. Freddie's laptop was still on the table. The chair was on the floor again, on its back, like it had been shoved back violently like before.

"Where's Freddie?" I asked.

"I don't know," Gibby responded. "He just got up and ran out of here, like a bat out of hell. I hope he doesn't run away next." I bit my bottom lip, sighing.

"Gibby, I think Freddie just went to Vegas." I said. Gibby stared at me for a moment. I could tell that he knew too. Freddie was in love with Sam and he was doing everything he could to find her. That's why he was on the internet all the time. He was looking for information on Sam's whereabouts.

"Yeah, I think so too, Carly." He paused. "I hope he finds her, before anyone else does."

"Me too, Gibby," I said sadly. "Me too."

~* Sam *~

I stepped off the elevator and immediately pulled the three inch heels I was wearing off my feet. I hated heels, but it was a requirement for my job. The skirt I was wearing continued to ride up, and I hiked it down, annoyed. I was exhausted, my feet hurt, my thighs were freezing, and my boobs were pushed up to my chin. I looked like a common streetwalker. Why did I ever decide to be a cocktail waitress?

I stuck my hand in my purse, feeling around for my room key, when my fingers brushed the rubber-banded stack of bills.

Oh yeah, now I remember. The money. That's why I took the job. I'd pulled in over $300 in tips from that gigantic mass of a nightclub tonight alone. Mama loves Saturday night. A few more weeks of this and I could get an apartment.

It had taken me exactly three hours after arriving in Vegas to track down someone who could hook me up with a fake ID, and I'd used it to my full advantage. No way in hell would I be living on the streets, Sam Puckett had a plan. I'd been so wrapped up in my plans, starting a new life, making money to start my new life, I hadn't socialized with anyone. I knew no one in Vegas. I was on my own.

I was lonely as hell, I missed Carly and Spencer, but I missed Freddie most of all. It had been over three weeks, and it wasn't getting any easier to be without him. I couldn't get him out of my mind, or out of my dreams.

Being able to go to sleep was definitely the favorite part of my day, because that's where I would see him, in my dreams. He was so beautiful. His voice melodious, especially when he'd say my name. I sighed. I missed him so much. But it was over. I couldn't go back. I'd have to start over here. It's too bad I couldn't have finished high school. I really hated it, but it would have been nice to prove everyone wrong, that I wasn't useless. Yeah, I really showed them.

I shook my thoughts out of my head to hurry further down the hallway. The food I had swiped from the Bellaggio was going to get cold, and this wig was itching like hell. I pulled my keycard out of my purse, slid it into the slot, and at the quiet "zip" sound pushed the door open. I walked in, turning to shut the door and lock it.

WHAM!

Two large male arms came down on either side of my head, and I screamed like a terrified little first grader. Fuck! No! I ran away to escape this, and I was probably going to get it even worse now! I'd heard horror stories about what happens to teenage girls who ran away, and now here I was, another statistic. Like hell if I'd go out like a little bitch though. Guy wasn't gonna have me without a fight. Man up, Puckett. To the death now.

I whirled around, prepared to spend the last moments of my life fighting for it, and suddenly all the air left my lungs. My hands dropped everything I was carrying. Delicious, overpriced buffet food went everywhere. My bag clattered to the floor, spilling cash and makeup and casino chips. My jaw dropped. I had finally gone crazy. I was out of my mind. It couldn't be.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't track your ass down?"


	8. Chapter 8: Fixing A Hole

**A/N: I really, really wanted to cliff-hang this to try and pull in more reviews, but I said screw it! I've noticed the number of reviews is disproportionate to the number of readers. 1) The lemons are on their way, promise. 2) I do not hold back when it comes to that. 3) Shit's about to get REAL. Please review, I'd really appreciate it!**

**Chapter Eight  
><strong>**Fixing A Hole**

~* Carly *~

I was getting more and more worried. Freddie's phone was OFF. I'd called him over 60 times in the past eight hours, left voicemails, sent texts. Nothing. I was in a panic. Both of my best friends were gone, and I was powerless to do anything about it. Finally, I'd given up and started to cry. Spencer had been trying in vain to soothe me, but nothing was working.

Around 2 AM, there was a frantic knock at the door.

"I'll get that." Spencer got up and walked to the door, opening it. "Oh, hi." I heard him speaking to someone but I couldn't make out what they were saying over the blaring of the tv. Damn late night infomercials.

"Hey, Carly?" Spencer said. "Mrs. Benson is here." I raised my eyes to look up, trying to wipe away the tears from my cheeks.

"Carly...do you know where Freddie is? He won't answer his phone! And he unplugged the tracking chip I put in his car." Mrs. Benson looked to be in worse shape than I was, if that was possible. She was a wreck. I ignored the bit about the tracking chip and sniffled.

"No, Mrs. Benson. I don't. I think he went to look for Sam. I don't know if I'll ever see either one of them again," I stood up, trying not to cry again, but it wasn't working.

Mrs. Benson walked over to me and cupped my hands in her face. "If you hear from him you'll call me right away?"

I nodded, still crying. "I'm sorry."

It was odd, but I didn't care. Mrs. Benson was hugging me. And we were both crying.

~* Sam *~

This had to be one of those things where victims hallucinate to get through being assaulted. There was no way...

"You can't just run away and expect me to not come after you, Puckett." Oh, that voice. The most beautiful sound in the world. More beautiful than even the sound of bacon frying.

"Fr-Freddie?"

"Yeah, remember me? The guy you forgot to tell you were leaving? The one that's in love with you?" He snapped. His eyes flashed, mouth trembling, he was so overcome with emotion. I reached out to touch his face, just to see if he was real. Oh god. It was him. My hand jerked back, not sure if I was even allowed to touch him anymore.

God, he looked gorgeous. Why was he dressed so nice? He was wearing a tie! His white button-down shirt strained against his biceps. Had they gotten bigger?

And those eyes! They were boring right through me. Deep chocolate pools of emotion. I looked into them and could see everything he was feeling. Anger at me leaving him, worry, sadness, despair, even his happiness to see me, although that was buried deep behind the anger currently. My gaze dropped down to his lips, his beautiful, soft, amazing, trembling lips. I missed kissing them. Suddenly they curled up into a smirk. My eyes traveled back up to his, which by now had transformed from anger to amusement. He knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Go ahead," he challenged softly. "I know you want to."

Instantly, my arms were around his neck and my mouth was on his, devouring him. He kissed me back, hard, and pushed me against the door, pressing his body against mine, one arm around my waist, the other resting on the door. He was frantic at first, rushed, but then he slowed, kissing me deeper, more passionately. The heat and weight of him felt amazing, something I had been longing for for over three weeks. He nipped at my bottom lip roughly, and I moaned. His pelvis was grinding into mine. It felt electric. He was completely in control, and I loved it.

He jerked his head away from me, but kept his body against mine. Wham! His palm hit the door again, angrily.

"Goddammit, Sam!" he growled. "Why'd you do this to me? Why'd you leave me behind?"

"I didn't want to keep putting you at risk," I said softly.

"I TOLD you! I would protect you, to let me worry about the risks! I wanted to take care of you and you just ran away! Why?"

"Freddie, I..." I trailed off. He didn't deserve an excuse, and that was all I had. "Freddie I'm sorry!" My arms tightened around him and I pressed my face against his chest, as if to keep him from moving away from me. There was no way in hell I was letting him go. I could hear his heart beating a mile a minute. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

His body was still pressed against mine, and I was still pinned to the door. He grabbed my chin and jerked it upward, staring me down.

"I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I searched for you every day, Sam! Every fucking DAY! I didn't know if you were okay or if someone was hurting you or if you were lying dead in a ditch somewhere! Do you know what you put me through? Dammit, Sam!" He sounded like he would start crying at any moment, so choked up he was. He kissed me again, roughly, then suddenly broke the kiss.

"Don't do it again." he warned me. He pulled away from me, and our eyes locked for a long time. Finally he led me to the bed, where we sat down. There was still food everywhere, the contents of my bag were scattered all over the place, and I didn't care. This hotel, this whole city, all of it could come crashing down, and none of it would matter.

"I liked you better as a blonde," he said, gesturing to my short, cropped black hair. I smiled and pulled the wig off my head, shaking out my still intact long blonde hair. The boy visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god."

Shallow nub!

"How did you find me?" I asked. I'd been so careful to cover my tracks.

"Well, I'd been searching the entire time you were gone. And then Gibby came back from vacation today with his parents and mentioned he saw a girl who looked just like you. So I hopped in my car and drove straight here." he replied. "Took a few hours after I got here to track you down, but I did it."

God. GIBBY saved the day? Wow. My two favorite nubs were becoming less nubby by the minute.

I gave him a look. "How'd you get into the room?"

He shrugged. "You taught me a few things, Puckett. I observed."

A smile spread across my face. "You picked a lock?"

"Well I tried, but it didn't work. So I just bought a suit and posed as an FBI agent. They let me in," He responded. "I knew I bought that Blueberry-enabled mobile printer for a reason." There was a slight bit of pride in his voice at having been clever enough to pretend to be law enforcement, and even more pride that it had worked.

"You committed felonies for me?" I couldn't believe it. "Freddie!" I hugged him. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me!" Freddie rolled his eyes, then brushed my hair away to look at my stitches. They were gone, and Freddie had done such a good job putting them in they barely left a scar.

"I cut them out a few days ago," I explained. "Pretty much everything's gone. No cuts, scrapes, burns. A few bruises from work though."

"Sam, let me take you back to Seattle," he said, his eyes growing serious. I shook my head.

"I can't. I'm still listed as a runaway. They'll make me go back," I replied, biting at my nails.

Freddy pulled something out of his pocket, a piece of paper, unfolded it, and handed it to me.

"What's this?"

"We can get you emancipated, Sam. You'll be a legal adult, responsible for yourself."

I shook my head sadly. "Freddie, I already tried that. I have a record. They won't."

Freddie was silent for a second, then he spoke hesitantly. "They'd have to if you got married."

My eyes must have bulged out of my head and I nearly leapt to my feet. "Married! Are you nuts? I can't get married! The idea is just...I can't do that Fredweird!" I started to pace.

"Then why'd you check into the hotel under the name Samantha Benson?" he countered, smirking. My eyes widened again. Damn. I can't keep anything from this boy.

"So they wouldn't look for me," I lied.

"Bullshit." Freddie stood up, walking towards me slowly, slinking forth like a jungle cat. God he was so sexy. He took my hands in his. "Let me help you."

"I can't do that to you, Freddie. I'd just be using you."

Freddie shook his head. "No you wouldn't. I'm offering to do this for you."

"Your mom would kill you."

"Let me deal with my mom. Come on Sam, this could save you."

"Fredweeb, as appealing as the offer sounds, you entering into a false marriage with me to do me a favor, I'm gonna have to pass. I don't need to be saved!" I was starting to get a little insulted. Sam Puckett was no charity case! I pushed his hands away.

"What other options do you have Puckett?" he answered gruffly. "Stay here and be a cocktail waitress until you're 30 and they fire you for being too old? Go back to your mom's and get beaten? Why are you fighting me on this?"

"I don't wanna marry someone just because I'm looking for a way out! That's not fair! Not to you or me!"

"Sam, I don't mind, I..."

"That's the whole point! It's not like you want to marry me, you're just doing me a favor!" I responded. "That's not what I want." I shook my head to emphasize my point. I backed up. He moved closer. Every move I made to get away from him, he countered with a move to get closer. No matter how hard I tried to push him away, he seemed to break past all my defenses and get even closer. Part of me wanted to hit him, the other part of me wanted to shove him onto the bed and rip his clothes off.

"Sam, you're gonna have to tell me what you want, because I'm not a mindreader!" Freddie yelled. He was getting really riled up. I kinda liked it. But he wasn't gonna get the truth outta me that easy. Nope. No way in hell would I let my guard down and admit that I, Sam Puckett, had been having dreams about marrying this nub...and they weren't nightmares. Loving him was one thing, admitting to myself that my heart skipped a beat when he brought the idea up was another. Marriage was so...domesticated.

"Does the idea of marrying me disgust you?" he asked.

"No, but the idea of you marrying me as a favor does!" I hollered back. His brows furrowed.

"What are you saying, Sam?"

"Nothing," I gruffed. "Just forget it."

"Sam." He grabbed my arms and pulled me to him, his voice low and hypnotic. "Sammy, talk to me. Tell me what's going on in that crazy beautiful head of yours."

I sighed. There was no way in hell. I'd send him running for the hills.

He sensed my hesitation and tried to comfort me. "You know you can tell me anything. Did you meet someone else or something?"

"There is no one else," I whispered, looking at the floor.

"What'd you say?" he asked. I looked up at him, a sudden streak of bravery coursing through me. I hadn't eaten in hours, my blood sugar must have been low. That would explain it, because what I was about to do was insane.

"I said, there is no else. I don't want anyone else." I replied, trying to keep myself steady as I became aware of his hands traveling up to tangle around my hair. "I don't want you to offer me something like this out of duty, or a desire to save me, or..." I was cut off by his lips being pressed against mine. My eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"What reason do you want?" he murmured when he broke the kiss, lips still inches from mine.

"I...Freddie?" He dropped to the ground so quick I thought he had passed out or something! My mouth hung open as I realized what he was doing. "Freddie..." I warned him. "Don't...I don't wanna screw your life up."

"Sam, I love you. I have for a long time. You're not going to screw my life up," he said, still on one knee.

"Freddie, there's college. Do you wanna go to college as a married man? You'll miss everything!"

"Yes, hangovers and drunk dimwitted girls who pass out in the middle of making out. I sure feel like I'm getting gypped right now."

"But Freddie..." I was scrambling to think up reasons to talk him out of it, anything! This would ruin his life!

"I can't think of anyone I could have more fun with than you. I love you." Christ, there was that L word again!

"Freddie -" I felt panicked now. Please don't ask me, I thought. I won't be able to say no!

"Sam..." he started.

"Freddie." I warned. God, why were my knees so weak? Stop him! Don't let him say it!

"Will you marry me?"

Shit. There it was. No turning back now. I'd have to be a total idiot to not want this, and it did make sense, but I couldn't subject the poor boy to me for the rest of his nubby life!

I didn't speak for a minute or so, I could tell he was actually nervous. He just looked up at me from the floor with those big brown eyes like a puppy. I bit my bottom lip.

Breathe, Puckett. Or was it Benson now? No! Stop thinking about that!

"Sam?" he asked, his voice wavering a little. I couldn't find my voice, so I simply nodded. He beamed, rising to his feet and wrapping his arms around me, kissing me.

"So that's a yes?" he whispered in my ear. I gave up all pretense. I was done fighting him. I was done fighting myself.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, yes, yes, yes."

He kissed me softly, sweetly. He began to deepen the kiss, then abruptly pulled away, staring at me intently.

"What's wrong?"

"I wanna hear you say it," he replied.

"Say what?" I was pretending to be clueless, but I knew exactly what he meant. And I didn't know if I could do that.

"You know what. Say it, or we're not going through with it," Freddie pulled away and crossed his arms. "I told you how I felt, Sam. It's your turn."

"But, Freddie, you know how I feel," I argued.

"What are you so afraid of? That I'll reject you? I just asked you to marry me!" Freddie said. He interlaced his fingers with mine. "I just want to hear you say it. I NEED to hear you say it, Sam."

I started feeling panicky. In my world you just DIDN'T say the 'L' word, unless you wanted to get hit.

"Breathe, Sammy." Freddie kissed me on my forehead. I'd been holding my breath and didn't even realize it.

"I..." Dizziness crept in. Oh god, why was this so hard? And so scary? "Freddie, I..." I dropped his hands and backed away. "Maybe this is a bad idea."

"Dammit, Sam!" Freddie hit the wall with his fist. "Man up! Quit being a pussy!"

Did Fredward Karl Benson just tell ME to man up AND call me a pussy? Oh, hell no!

"What the hell did you just say to me?" I asked, still in shock. Freddie took a step closer to me. This boy had sure gotten brave in the past three weeks I was gone. He was going up against the wrong person; I was in no mood to deal with this.

"I said, man up and stop being a pussy! You think getting in fights makes you brave? It doesn't! Big bad Sam running away because she can't tell someone she loves them." Freddie mocked me. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we shouldn't do this. Maybe I'll just leave and you can go back to dressing like a slut for tips. I bet you'll be on a pole within a month."

That did it. Before I could control myself, I slapped Freddie, open-handed, right across the face. He barely budged, just continued to glare at me. "It's easier for you to hit me than admit your feelings. THAT'S what makes you a pussy."

"Fuck you!" I pushed him. "You came all this way just to make me feel worse? Just leave, Freddie!" I walked to the room door and opened it wide and pointing into the hall. "Get the hell out! I'm done with your ass! And you know what? I DO love you! I love you so fucking much it makes me crazy, and I hate myself for it! But it's too late for any of that now! Just – "

Freddie crossed the room so fast it was a blur, slamming the door shut and shoving me against it, kissing me passionately. There was a difference between roughness and passion, and Freddie was showing it to me, right now.

"Finally," he growled against my mouth. His hips ground up against mine. His hands went to my hair, pulling my head back. Freddie's mouth trailed from my mouth to my jaw and then down to my throat. "I've waited years for you to say that to me." More kissing, sucking, nibbling, biting, up and down my throat and over my collar bone. I whimpered, grinding my pelvis against his.

"Freddie," I gasped. "Oh god. I love you so much." Freddie moaned. He kissed me again, and we continued urgently pressing our bodies and mouths against each other. I felt like I would explode. Suddenly Freddie withdrew.

"We'll have more time for that later," he mused. "But we gotta get to work if we're gonna be able to get you back to Seattle."

"Freddie, how are we gonna pull this off though, without parental consent?"

"Just let me take care of that. I've got a plan," he replied. Then he had a thought. "How much have you saved up?"

"About two grand, why?" I asked.

"Because we're gonna need it. Pack up your stuff." he said. "I've gotta use the restroom."

"But, Freddork where are we going?" I hate being left out of the loop.

"Back to Seattle," he called over his shoulder, shutting the bathroom door behind him.


	9. Chapter 9: Like Dreamers Do

**A/N: Three chapters in one day! Did I mention I have ridiculous writer's block right now on my "work" writing? Oh well, my loss, your gain. Enjoy.**

**Update: Gah, I just realized NONE of my line breaks are sticking! If it seems like there's a time gap it's because my breaks aren't showing up. **

**Chapter Nine:  
><strong>**Like Dreamers Do**

~* Sam *~

I don't know how Freddie managed to pull it off, but he did.

Apparently Fredward's "Great Uncle Milton" was a superior court judge, quite fond of Freddie, and more than willing to give us a little lee-way in terms of laws and statutes. The minimum age in Washington state for marriage was 17 with parental consent, but Freddie simply called his uncle and bypassed the laws like they didn't apply to him. He explained the entire situation, right down to my mom's evil cop boyfriend and the missing persons report! The two of them had figured out exactly what to do, and Uncle Milton was going to help us. Ah, loopholes.

I was incredibly nervous. Four things were going through my head right now.

Number one, I was back in Seattle, where I could easily run into my mom or Bill.

Number two, how was I going to tell Carly I was MARRIED to Freddie Benson?

Number three, Oh my GOD. I was getting MARRIED.

And...number four. Wedding meant married. Married meant wedding night. Wedding night meant sex. I looked over at Freddie, sitting in the driver's seat of his car, and gulped. My eyes traveled down his package. I wondered how big it was. I wondered what it would feel like. I wondered what it would feel like insi -

"See something you like?" Freddie asked, ripping me away from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You've been staring at my crotch for ten minutes," he pointed out. I turned a deep shade of crimson, and he laughed, his hand moving to my hair to give it a gentle tug, causing goosebumps to creep up all over my body. Oh my god, knock it off or I'll pounce on you while you're driving, Benson.

"So...how exactly is this gonna work?" I asked, struggling for a subject change.

"Well, we're going to meet Uncle Milton right now. He'll perform the ceremony, and then after that we go meet with the lawyer Uncle Milton called for us. She's gonna issue a temporary emancipation until you go through the official process on the court date, which hasn't been set yet. But we'll take the order and the marriage license to the police department, they'll rescind the runaway notice for you." Freddie said. "And I found out what station your mom's boyfriend works out of, we're gonna go to the one on the other side of town."

"Oh," I responded simply. Freddie put his hand on my leg.

"Are you okay, Sam?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine...I'm just really...I've got a lot on my mind right now. The idea of going back is freaking me out." I said, taking a deep breath.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "It'll all work out. Just trust me, okay?"

"What are you gonna tell your mom?" I asked.

"Not to kill Uncle Milton," he mused. "Look, I'll tell her after it's all done."

"And...after it's all done..."

"What?" Freddie's eyes flicked to me and then back to the road.

"How are things gonna go?" I asked. "Are we gonna tell people? Are we gonna move in together? Are we gonna act like we're married?"

Freddie's brow furrowed. "I don't really know how married people act. Do you?"

"Oh, come on, Fredballs, you can't be that dumb, they act like..." I trailed off. "Well...they..." Christ I didn't know either! Freddie and I had both barely been around married people. We were both the product of single-parent homes. Maybe that's why we were so well-matched; we were both hopelessly screwed up in our own ways.

"We'll just play things by ear, okay?" Freddie asked. "My main priority right now is keeping you safe."

I nodded.

"Mrs. Benson," he teased. I squeezed my eyes shut and grimaced a bit. Mrs. Benson. Ew, that's what they called his mom!

"Oh my god!" I blurted out.

"What?" Freddie looked at me, concerned.

"I just realized something," I responded, horrified.

"What is it, Sam? Tell me!" I was freaking him out.

I took a deep breath. "Your mom...is gonna be my mother-in-law." I stated.

Freddie was silent for a moment, and then suddenly burst into laughter. He was laughing so hard he was having trouble driving.

"Shut up!" I yelled, punching him in the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I can't," he laughed hysterically. "Oh man. Now you get to see what I have to suffer through." He laughed again.

I grumbled to myself, but then I thought, if the worst problem in my life was having Crazy for a mother-in-law, I didn't have it so bad.

~* Freddie *~

I'm not sure what exactly was running through my head when I asked Sam to marry me. If I was even thinking at all. All I cared about was getting her help, getting her life straight.

I didn't think I was going to end up being a groom in the process, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.

Yes, so I was too young to be married. I was also too young to be a tech producer on a famous webshow, but that didn't stop me.

And let's face it, Sam and I weren't normal. It made sense, kind of, that we weren't going the normal route of dating.

I tried to hide the smile that was creeping across my face as another thought crossed my mind.

Wedding night. I snuck a peek over at Sam, wearing just a wifebeater and jeans. The wifebeater hugged her curves nicely, and I knew she wanted me as much as I wanted her. It took every ounce of strength I had in my body not to have thrown her on that crappy hotel bed in Vegas and explore every inch of her little body. I liked the idea of waiting though, especially since it was only a few hours until I'd be married to her. And then...oh man. I stole another glance at her shapely body, smiled, and shifted my eyes back to the road.

Yeah, I could get used to this.

I led Sam down the hallway to Uncle Milton's office. She looked supremely uncomfortable, looking around as if she thought someone would grab her at any second.

"Sam, are you sure you're alright?" I stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"God, no, Fredweeb! It's just...well..."

"Well what? Talk to me!"

"I was just thinking. This is the first time I've seen a judge without being in handcuffs," Sam responded.

I had to laugh at that. I grinned and kissed her on the forehead. "I guess I'm just a good influence."

"Not if you're missing an arm!" Sam threatened.

"Hmmm, there's that fire I missed," I said, kissing her lightly. "Come on, Uncle Milton's waiting for us."

We walked to his office and I knocked on the door three times. "Uncle Milton! It's me, Freddie!"

The door opened, and there stood my great Uncle Milton. "Freddie! Come on in my boy!" He gave me a big bear hug like he always did. He was a big man with large belly and he always managed to hug you a little too tight. "This must be Samantha." He extended his hand to her, and as she reached to shake his hand, he grabbed hers firmly, shaking it a little too hard, catching her off-guard.

"Uh, Sam," she said. "Everyone calls me Sam."

"My apologies, Sam. He mentioned that, I forgot."

Sam's eyes skidded over to me. "What else did he mention about me?"

Uncle Milton scoffed. "The boy's been talking about you for years."

I felt my cheeks flush a little. "Uncle Milton, please." Sam smiled at me, biting her bottom lip.

"Oh c'mon, son, you're marrying the girl, aren't you?"

I grinned. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Then I'm sure she knows how you feel." I looked at Sam, she stared back at me. After a period of silence, Uncle Milton cleared his throat, as if he expected the two of us to start going at it right in front him. No such luck, old man.

"Well come on in, sit down. Let's get down to brass tacks."

Sam and I walked into his office, each of us sitting down in one of the burgundy leather armchairs in front of his desk. Uncle Milton took his seat and began shuffling through a folder of papers.

"Okay, so. Freddie tells me you have problems at home," Uncle Milton said. I had to hold back my scoff. That was an understatement.

"Yeah. I mean, yes sir. And I tried to get emancipated on my own, but I have a juvy record and they wouldn't let me, but I can't go back! And now I'm listed as a runaway and I feel like I have no way out and..."

"Calm down, Sam!" Uncle Milton reassured her. "There is always a way out. I'm sure Freddie told you how this is going to work out."

I nodded. "I did."

"But Freddie, there's something you need to be aware of."

"What's that?" I asked. My eyebrows furrowed.

"In order for the marriage to be binding and legal so Sam's emancipation will stick, I'm afraid you're BOTH going to have to be emancipated."

Sam's eyes grew big, and so did mine.

"Freddie, forget it. You'll break Crazy's heart!" I heard Uncle Milton snort as he tried to hold back a laugh. He knew Sam's nickname for my mom was well-earned.

"Look, I'll talk to her. She'll understand," I said. "I want to do this." I was firm. "We're going to do this." My eyes turned to my Uncle. "Give me the paperwork."

"Freddie, you're sure?" Sam asked.

I stared at her for a second, and thought about everything that had happened during the past month. Sam running away made me realize how I couldn't stand to be away from her. She stared back, biting her lip. I gave her an encouraging smile, and picked up a pen, pulling off the cap. "I'm sure. Give me the paperwork."


	10. Chapter 10: The Honeymoon Song

**A/N: Okay, I lied. Four chapters in one day. This one is nice and lemony. Fellow pervs, start your engines! Vroom, baby! =D**

**Chapter Ten:**

**The Honeymoon Song**

~* Sam *~

My heart hadn't stopped racing since I had been in Freddie's uncle's office, and I heard the most beautiful seven words I had ever heard.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Freddie had kissed me so fiercely I thought he would squeeze the air out of my lungs. It was heaven.

Okay, so it was quick, dirty, and we were both wearing jeans. There were no rings involved. And the only witness was Uncle Milton's elderly secretary Mrs. McGuffy. But it was magic.

I was his and he was mine. We didn't have to go through any awkward dating, or long drawn-out conversations about whether it was meant to be or not. It just simply was. And I couldn't have been happier.

He had promised to protect me. He had promised me he wouldn't let me go.

I wasn't used to people keeping their promises. But he did. He had fixed my wounds, broken laws, chased me across state lines, and pretty much given up his freedom, all to protect me.

I had this goofy grin on my face that started at Uncle's Milton's office, then it had carried to lawyer's office. I even had it plastered across my face at the police department. What kind of a nub is all smiley at the police department? I think Freddie's rubbing off on me. Not that I minded anymore. It was beginning to occur to me that maybe it wasn't so bad to be good.

~* Freddie *~

My head was spinning at the realization of what had happened not three hours before. I married Sam. Holy lord. This could end up being the most wonderfully tortuous existence a man could ever lead.

"So what do we do now?" Sam asked.

I glanced at her and bit my bottom lip, glancing back at the road.

"Pervert!" she laughed.

"Me?" I responded. "You're the one who was constantly jumping my bones in my apartment before you left town."

"True," she mused with a little laugh. "So?

"So before I show up victorious tomorrow at Carly's and play the hero, let's go and...just be Freddie and Sam."

I expected a snide comment, but it never came.

Sam nodded. "Okay."

We got a room, nothing fancy, just a typical cheap motel room. Not that it mattered. I wasn't there to enjoy the scenery, I was there to be with Sam. We headed upstairs and stood outside the door, just looking at it.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Sam asked, poking me in the ribs.

"This," I quickly opened the door and then picked Sam up, eliciting a squeal from my new wife. Wife!

I carried her into the room and tossed her on the bed.

"My, how traditional, Fredward," Sam said with a smile, rising to her knees. "Come here." She wagged her finger at me. Gulping, I walked toward her slowly before I got within arm's reach of her and she grabbed me by the collar, yanking me on top of her and kissing me passionately.

"Mmm, Mr. Benson," she said as she pulled her mouth away from mine.

"Yes, Mrs. Benson?" I replied. She grinned, then rolled off the bed. I was acutely disappointed.

"I'm gonna get a shower," she said. "Be back in a few." She stopped, and turned around again. "No peeking."

With that, she turned and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. I fell back on the bed, sighing. Suddenly wanting to get comfortable, I pulled my shirt over my head and unbuckled my belt, then made quick work of my shoes and socks. That's better.

Laying back, I waited patiently for Sam to return, staring up at the ceiling. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the bathroom door creak open and turned my head to look.

Oh my god.

Sam was standing there in only a towel, her mass of blonde ringlets falling around her bare shoulders. I sat up quickly, staring at her.

"See something you like, Fredweeb?" she taunted.

"Come here," I said in a tone that was so low I wasn't sure if it was even my own voice.

Sam edged toward the bed, seeming a little nervous. I held my hand out to her, taking hers and kissing it softly. She sighed. I moved to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling her towards me.

"You nervous?" I asked, playing with her hair. She nodded.

"A little," she admitted.

"Me too," I replied. I kissed her softly, and she responded by tangling her fingers at the base of my hair and tugging slightly. I groaned in approval, and she moved even closer, pressing her body against mine. I broke the kiss and ran my fingertips across the edge of the towel.

"This," I murmured, "Needs to go."

Sam took a deep breath. I let her regain her bearings before I unwrapped the towel from her body, letting it pool at the floor. My gaze traveled down from her face, lower...

Wow. Puberty had been good to Samantha Puckett. Scratch that. Puberty had been good to Samantha BENSON. She had the sexiest body I had ever seen, and let's be honest, nerds watch a LOT of porn. Her body was a myriad of wonderful contradictions; thin, but curvy, firm but soft. I was gaping at her, and I didn't care.

"Freddie?" I was making her nervous.

"You're beautiful," I whispered, pulling her to me and kissing her. She moaned into my mouth as our bare torsos came into contact for the first time. God, she was so warm and soft. I fell back onto the bed, pulling her with me, and quickly rolled over so I was on top of her, never breaking the kiss. My hands moved from her hair, down over her soft neck, down the sides of her body. She gasped as I rubbed against her.

"You'd better take those off," she said breathlessly.

"Is that what you want, Mrs. Benson?" I teased.

"I don't want to get them...messy," she said, biting her lip.

Oh man, that meant I was having an effect on her. I stood up, and she propped up on her elbows, looking up at me. Without waiting for me to speak, she sat up and began unbuttoning my jeans. She made quick work of unzipping them, relieving the pressure that was building up in me. With a quick look up at me, in one swift motion, she pulled my jeans, along with my boxers, over my hips, letting them fall to the floor. My erection sprang free, and she gaped, mouth open. I tried not to grin. Sam was impressed, that was a good sign. I stepped out of my pants and came back on top of her, kissing her, both of us gasping as we rubbed against each other.

"God, Freddie," she murmured. I kissed her lips, her cheeks, her jaw. My mouth trailed down her neck, over her collar bone. I sucked on it briefly, eliciting a moan from my new wife. My mouth trailed lower, and I heard her suck in a deep breath, her fingernails digging into my arms.

My god, she had gorgeous breasts. All pale and white with pink tips, large for her petite frame. My hand went to her left one, massaging it, and she moaned, arching her back. That was my cue to let my mouth cover the right one, and I did eagerly, licking and sucking and rubbing the flat of my tongue across the tip of her nipple. She was panting now, driving me crazy, grinding against me. I was rock hard, I had to be really careful not to slip inside her before I managed to put a condom on. No little Freddies or Sams running around, not for quite a few years anyway. My mouth traveled to the other breast, treating it to same pleasure as the first one.

"God, Freddie," she whimpered. "This feels amazing." She moaned again.

"Just getting started, sweetness," I murmured against her skin. I let my mouth travel further down her body, kissing her ribs, across her flat stomach, dipping my tongue into her navel. Even lower I kissed, biting at her hip bones. She was tossing her head from side to side, her breathing ragged and uneven. I could feel her hips lift off the bed, trying to get closer to my mouth. I smirked, proud of myself for the effect I was having on her.

"I'm gonna make you feel so good," I said, looking up at my place between her legs to stare her in the eyes. God, this was so hot! I looked down, and...hmm. That was interesting. I looked back up at her, grinning.

"Did you do that for me?" I asked, referring to the carefully shaped 'F' that she had shaped her pubic hair into. So that's what took her so long in the shower.

"No, I did it because I love fudge," she said sarcastically. I laughed, kissing her stomach and letting my hand trail to her thigh, squeezing it. She was shaking.

"Relax, Sam." I moved up her body to kiss her. "I want this to be so good for the both of us, baby."

"Say it again," she said.

"I want this to be good for both of us?" I asked.

"No, the part where you called me baby," she responded. I grinned.

"Baby," I said, kissing her. "My sweet, sweet baby." My hand started a steady trail down her body until I reached her sex, running my fingers lightly over it at first, enjoying the way it made her pant. I began to rub, and as she began grinding her hips against my hand, I applied more pressure.

"Oh, god...Freddie...oh...this feels so...OH!" her back arched suddenly, her hands gripping the sheets underneath her. I smirked. I guess I found Sam's sensitive spot. I purposefully rubbed the same spot over and over, enjoying the way she bucked against my hand. I stopped watching her face to bend down and kiss her deeply. She kissed me passionately, our tongues fighting one another for dominance, and then without warning I slid a finger inside her. Sam tore her mouth away from mine, biting my shoulder as she moaned. I felt her teeth dig into my shoulder, but it didn't make me stop or even pull back a little. I guess I'd always enjoyed the little bit of pain mixed with pleasure Sam brought to my life. Not entirely psychologically healthy, but who cares? Addictions never were healthy, were they? I was hopelessly addicted to this girl, and I never wanted to recover from it.

"Oh my god! Freddieeeeee..." she moaned as I slowly moved my finger in and out. I wanted to take my time, get her body used to it. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.

"More?" I asked, my thumb coming up to rub her clit. She whimpered, and as she arched her back again I licked over her neck.

"God, more, please..." she begged. I added another finger, but held still as I noticed the way she hissed in pain.

"Hurt?" I asked, worried. She shook her head.

"A little," she responded. Her hands went to the back of my neck, pulling my head down to kiss me.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked as I broke the kiss.

"Yeah, I want you to stop fingering me," she said. Shit! I had hurt her! I was acutely disappointed, until she spoke again.

"I want you inside me. Now." she said.

"But, Sam, I don't want to hurt you..." I began, stopping short as she kissed me roughly, biting my lip so hard I could taste a little bit of blood. I jerked away, my head snapping back. "Ow! Sam that hurt!"

"Then we're even," she quipped spicily, grabbing my dick and slowly pumping it up and down. I moaned into the crook of her neck. She could be downright evil when she wanted to be. I fucking loved it. "I want you inside me, Freddie. I don't care if it hurts...I..."

"You what, baby?" I asked, trying to focus as she continued to play with my dick. It wasn't easy, my brain was starting to go foggy.

"Well...I mean...I want you to be as close to me as you can possibly can. I...I love you. I want to feel you inside of me." God, I was hard as a rock now. Hearing her tell me she loved me...nothing turned me on more than hearing those three little words. Except what her hand was doing to my dick right now. I could feel my lower body twitch.

"God, Sam, you'd better stop or we're not gonna get there at all," I said, shuddering as she continued stroking me. I pushed her hand away. "Where are the condoms?"

"In my duffel," Sam responded. I got up and walked over to her duffel bag, fishing through it. I turned around with a look of amusement on my face when I heard Sam whistle.

"What was that about?"

"You have got one fine ass, Benson," Sam said, propped up on her elbow, grinning at me. I watched her eyes travel over my body, trying not to smirk as I watched her lick her lips. She stood up, walking over to me, and grabbed the back of my head, pulling my mouth to hers, pressing her body against mine. My hands went to her lower back, pressing her body against me and grinding into her hips. Without warning I picked her up, wrapping her legs around my waist, and walked her over to the bed, coming over top of her, kissing her mouth, her jaw, her neck, my fingers tangling through her long blonde hair. She broke the kiss, gasping.

"Put the condom on, Freddie," she said. I got up on my knees, ripping open the foil packet with my teeth, and she watched as I rolled the condom over my erection. I laid back down between her legs.

"Ready?" I asked, kissing her.

"Yes," she whispered. "Come on, baby."

It was a little awkward at first, lining up our bodies the right way, but then I tentatively pushed inside her a little bit. She sucked in a sharp breath.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," she breathed, nodding. "I love you."

I kissed her. "I love you too." God, she was so warm and tight, it was hard to keep my head on straight. I pulled out a little bit, then thrust deeper into her, feeling a little bit resistance as I encountered the proof that she'd never been with anyone else.

"Last call, baby," I said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I just have to get used to you...you're so big," she said, forcing a smile. "Come on, just do it..."

"I don't want to hurt you, I...Sam!" I moaned as she wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled her hips to mine, forcing me in all the way. I had felt a slight resistance and a popping, but the sudden rush of being buried deep inside her was unlike anything I had ever felt, light-headedness and dizziness overtaking me. Sam had taken matters into her own hands because she knew I was hesitant to cause her pain, and I was supremely grateful.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded, smiling. The smile wasn't forced this time. She kissed me. "Make love to me, Freddie."

I moaned, burying my face in her neck as I began to thrust in and out of her. I felt her hips grinding against mine and a loud moan escaped her lips.

"Oh my god, you feel so good," she groaned, her nails digging into my shoulders. She'd probably leave marks, but fuck, WHO CARED? She could cover my entire body with marks and I'd just beg for her to do it again! "Oh my god, Freddie..."

"Sam...fuck...this feels so good..." it was so hard to hold out, to not explode. "God..."

"Freddieeeeee..." she bit my shoulder, and the pain and pleasure mixed together was unreal. We began to move together faster, all signs of pain from Sam gone.

"Sam...god...I'm gonna..." Christ, just hold out a little longer, Freddie!

"God, Freddie..." she moaned. "I'm so close! Oh my god..."

I bent my head to lick over her breasts, driving her further to the edge. The last thing I wanted was to explode before she'd had a chance to reach her peak. I tried to angle my hips a different way. I was no expert, but I'd read a few anatomy books and seen more than my fair share of porn. I guess the angle worked, because her back suddenly arched, her head going back, mouth hanging open. Her fingernails dug into my back and she let out a long, drawn out moan.

"Oh god, Freddieeeee..." she gasped, her body shaking underneath me. I felt her inner walls clench around me repeatedly, and that was all it took to send me hurtling over the edge. I buried my face in the crook of her neck as I exploded, shuddering.

We were still for a moment, the both of us waiting for our heartbeats to slow down. I pulled out of her and deposited the used protection in the trash can next to the bed, then pulled her into my arms.

"You okay?" I asked, kissing her neck. She sighed happily.

"Better than okay," she responded, snuggling against me. "Was it...good?"

I grinned. "It was great. How about you?"

She bit her bottom lip. "I had no idea anything could feel that good." she kissed me sweetly. "I love you. I'm so glad we did this."

"What, had sex?"

"No. Got married," she responded. "Nub." She yawned.

I kissed her softly. "Love you, Mrs. Benson."

She laughed. "It may take me awhile to get used to that."

"Well, you have plenty of time to get used to it," I replied. "Get some sleep, tomorrow we're gonna play 'Let's Give Carly a Heart Attack.' Bright and early."

"Sounds good," she said, kissing me. She laid her head on my shoulder and drifted off to sleep, with me not far behind.


	11. Chapter 11: Glad All Over

**A/N: Kind of a long chapter, but lots of ground to cover, and pervy goodness! =D Thanks so much for all the awesome reviews!**

**Chapter Eleven**  
><strong>Glad All Over<strong>

~* Carly *~

I was beyond miserable. I hadn't been able to get ahold of Freddie since he went Banjo Kazooie out of my apartment three days ago. So now both my best friends were gone. The only people I had to hang out with were Spencer and Gibby, and Spencer was usually busy, so that left me alone with Gibby most of the time. At least Brad would be back from vacation soon, he was the closest thing to normal I had ever been around.

Gibby was keeping me company because he knew I was alone, which was sweet, but he could be rather annoying sometimes. Still, it was nice to have someone to watch Girly Cow with. I was listening, or pretending to listen, about Gibby ranting about latest breakup with Tasha when I heard a sharp rapping at my door. It was probably just Socko. He'd been in and out lately.

I stood up, shuffled over to the door, and pulled it open. "Hey, Sock—AAAHHH!" I squealed. My hands flew to my face, covering my mouth in shock.

It. Was. Sam.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked. I threw my arms around her, hugging her harder than I'd ever hugged anyone in my life. "Sam!"

"Carls!" she yelled, jumping into my arms and wrapping her legs around my body. We both fell to the floor in a heap, still hugging one another.

"Hot." Gibby commented. We both glared at him.

"Where've you been, Sam?" I asked as we stood up. "I've been worried sick about you!"

Sam shrugged. "Vegas." She seemed her usual self, not like the broken girl she had been before. Something had changed. I wondered what had happened to her there.

"Great buffets, right?" Gibby asked.

"Yeah, that's what drew me," Sam responded. She turned and yelled into the hall. "Yo, Freddo! Get over here!"

"Sam, Freddie's not here, he went to..."

"I'm right here, what's up?" Freddie popped into the doorway. Two best friends back in one day!

"Freddie!" I screamed, throwing my arms around his neck. "You're back!"

"Yeah, the nub found me," Sam said. "And that's not all, take a gander at this!" She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to me. I unfolded it and my brows furrowed quizzically as I read over it.

"What's an emergency emancipation order?" I asked.

"Well, this states, right here, on this third line," Sam pointed to it. "That I, Sam Puckett, have been granted legal adultship at the ripe old age of sixteen by the state of Washington. I'm free baby!" she yelled the last part, doing a happy dance. I squealed and began dancing along with her.

"Hey can you buy us booze now?" Gibby asked.

"No, I asked. Still gotta wait five years." Sam said with a shrug.

"But wait, how did all this happen?" I asked.

"Freddo's got a secret weapon." Sam responded. "Great Uncle Milton. And man, he is great! I'm enrolling him in the Bacon of the Month club!"

"Explain, because I'm not getting it," I said.

"My uncle's a superior court judge. He can order anyone in the state of Washington to do pretty much anything," Freddie offered. "So I called him, and when I found Sam in Vegas, I took her straight to Uncle Milton's office, he signed the paperwork, we took it to the police, and bam! Done."

"Wow, Sam, that must have been the first time you've ever seen a judge without being in handcuffs!" I commented.

"I know, right?" Sam asked gleefully.

"Sam, you seem so much better!" I noted. "The stitches are out, I see."

"Stitches?" Gibby asked. "Why'd you get stitches?" Freddie and I gave each other looks.

"Got in a fight with a midget," Sam said breezily. I shook my head, laughing. Sam was back in town AND back to normal!

"Spencer!" I yelled.

"Coming!" he yelled from his bedroom. "What's up gu- Sammy!" he exclaimed as he walked out, only it came out more like "SAM-MAY!" He rushed over to her and pulled her into a big bear hug, spinning her around. She laughed hysterically, hugging him back. "You're back! And in one piece!" He put her down and they hugged each other again.

"How are you?" he asked her. "Are you okay? Where'd you go?"

"Vegas," Sam said. "Fredamame found me."

"Look, Spencer!" I thrust the piece of paper into his hands.

"Emergency Emancipation Order," he read. He smacked his forehead. "Jeez, why didn't I think of that? We could have been done with this mess weeks ago!"

Sam and Freddie glanced at each other with a certain glint in their eyes, but I couldn't tell what that was about. Of course, I was determined to find out later, by bugging it out of Sam.

"Freddie, I cannot believe you went all the way to Vegas and found her! That is so awesome," I said. Freddie shrugged.

"It would have taken months to find a replacement host for iCarly...ow!" He rubbed the back of his head where Sam had smacked him.

I grinned. Things were getting back to normal! In the past their bickering had always bothered me, but now I was relieved to see it again, after Sam's breakdown and running away to Vegas.

"I am so relieved, you guys. There's no way I could have gotten through my senior year without you two," I stated.

"Hey what about me?" Gibby asked.

"And you, Gibby," I added to be nice. I looked back at Sam and Freddie, who were giving each other goofy looks. What was that about? I knew they liked each other, but something else was going on. This was way more than just "I like you" looks. Something had happened between Freddie leaving and him returning with Sam. But what?

They must have had sex! My eyes grew wide. I was going to get the truth out of Sam tonight, no matter what.

"Eeee, Return of the Best Friend Slumber Party!" I said, absolutely giddy. "Popcorn and jammies and a Girly Cow marathon!"

"Oh god," Sam said. "Fine, but only because I've been gone for three weeks."

"Spence, it's cool right?" I asked him.

"I am homeless now," Sam added. "A fully-fledged adult hobo!"

"No way! Spencer, please let Sam say, I don't want a hobo for a best friend!" I whined. "Please please please puh-leaze?"

"Fine!" Spencer said. "She can stay!"

"Yay!" I jumped up and down. "I'm so happy you're back!"

~* Freddie *~

I left Sam and Carly to do their "girl bonding", and walked across the hall to do battle with my mother. She was probably going to kill me, bring me back to life, and kill me again. I nervously stuck my key in the door and turned the knob.

"Mom? I'm home..." I yelled out.

"FREDWARD KARL BENSON!" My mother came out of her bedroom and began yelling. "Where have you been? Do you know I've looked for you everywhere? How could you run off like that without telling me? What were you thinking?"

"Which question do you want me to answer first, mom?" I asked, irritated. I'd been through hell, gotten married, and became a legal adult in less than 48 hours, without her knowledge, and I wasn't in the mood to be treated like a child anymore.

"Don't speak to me like that! I want ALL my questions answered, Fredward!"

I sat down on a barstool. "I was in Las Vegas. I went to find Sam."

"I don't see why you waste all your time chasing around that girl! She's nothing but trouble! She was on the news and everything! I don't want you around her anymore, is that clear?"

Gonna be awfully hard, considering I just married her, I thought.

"Mom, Sam is NOT a bad person, she -"

"She ran away from home! And then look, you turn around and copy her!" My mom said.

"I was not 'copying' her, mother!" I was getting angry myself. "And do you know WHY she ran away from home?"

"It doesn't matter why, Fredward, what matters is -"

"Her mother and her mother's stupid boyfriend beat her, Mom!" I yelled. "They beat her almost on a daily basis!" My mom's angry glare softened a bit, but she continued.

"Freddie, that's a serious accusation." she stated.

"It's not an accusation, mom! I saw the bruises! I stitched her head up myself!" I said.

"You did?" she asked.

"Right over there, on your couch." I said. "Don't believe me? Go check the first aid kit. The stitch needle's gone. I had to throw it out because it was covered in Sam's BLOOD!"

As I predicted, she did exactly that, rifling through the first aid kit frantically. She came up empty-handed, and placed her hands on her hips, looking at me, sure I was playing some sort of joke on her.

"I'm not kidding, mom! I've never seen anything like it. Her entire back was covered in cigarette burns!"

"Okay, so why didn't you go to the police then?"

"Her mom's boyfriend is Detective Bill Powers. He's the one who did it." I said. "And then Sam ran away, and...I had to go after her, Mom. If you had saw what happened, everything she's been through..." I stopped. "And then I took her to see Uncle Milton."

"Why on earth would you do that, Freddie?" my mom asked.

"Emergency Emancipation Order," I responded. "Look, I'm sorry I left without telling you, mom, but...Sam's one of my best friends. She was going to ruin her life. She would have ended up on the streets, doing god knows what just to feed herself. I couldn't let that happen," I said. And I love her, I added silently. "And because of me, because I brought her back, Sam's free of all that now. Her mom can't hurt her anymore. She's across the hall with Carly right now, safe and sound!"

"Oh, Freddie. You are such a good boy." My mom hugged me. "But please don't leave like that without telling me. You have no idea how scared I was."

I did though. The way she felt when I left was the exact same way I felt when Sam left.

I nodded. "You got it, Mom. I don't see any unscheduled trips in my near future though. Hopefully the rest of the summer can be borderline normal."

"Let's hope so. You hungry?" she asked. I nodded.

"Good, let's go get lunch. My treat."

I smiled. "Sounds good, Mom."

~* Sam *~

I was sitting in Carly's room, laughing and goofing off like old times. It'd be nice to stay somewhere that wasn't a hotel. It had been awhile. It seemed like nothing had changed between the two of us, even though some things had. I was married now. Did that make things different?

"So..." Carly began, in that way she says "so" right before she tries to pry out information.

"So." I replied, mentally preparing myself for what she would ask me.

"What happened between you and Freddie in Las Vegas?"

I shrugged. "Nothing." Carly raised her eyebrows at me.

"Nothing?" Carly responded. "Sam, I wasn't born yesterday! I can see it! The way you two look at each other! Something big happened between him coming to get you and you two showing back up!"

I sighed. "Okay fine. Something did happen." I wasn't going to lie to Carly, just not tell her the entire truth.

"I knew it! You guys had sex!" Carly asked. "Oh my gosh, tell me everything!"

"Carly! You know, I have toyed with the idea of waiting until marriage," I snapped. And since I'm already married...well, I'd tell her that part later. "But...he told me that he loved me. And...I told him I loved him. And I've never told anyone that before." Wow, I was leaving out pretty much everything. I felt slightly guilty, but Carly would flip out if I told her the truth, and I didn't want to do it without at least clearing it with Freddie first.

"Sam, oh my god!" Carly screeched. "I am SO proud of you! And you guys are together?" I nodded happily.

"Oh my god!"

"Jesus, Shay, stop screaming!" I laughed. "And then after that, well, you know..."

"No, I don't know..." Carly said with a big goofy grin on her face. "Tell me."

"Well, it involved the hotel room door. With my back against it," I said with a mischievous grin on my face. "That boy can really kiss."

"Really? Freddie?" Carly asked. I nodded, trying to prevent the goofy smile crossing across my face. Then I pulled the neck of my shirt aside to show Carly one of Freddie's little "love bites" on my collar bone. Carly's eyes grew big.

"Wow, so you guys are like...serious."

"Uh, yeah, Carly! He's done so much for me...you have no idea." She really didn't. "I'd never be able to make it up to him."

"I'm sure he doesn't want you to, Sam, he just wants you!" Carly said. I beamed, biting my bottom lip.

Yeah, he did want me. And I planned on making him prove to me just how much he wanted me, later, after Carly went to sleep.

~* Freddie *~

I sat at my computer in the dark, syncing up my PearPod. Anything to take my mind off what I really wanted to be doing, which was having Sam in my arms. My mind kept drifting back to our amazing night. The feel of her skin, her moans. And, god...the way it felt inside her. I couldn't wait until she was able to go on birth control so we could stop using condoms. I felt my dick spring to life, and I tried to put it out of my mind, but I couldn't. All I could think about was hearing Sam, breathily moaning my name in my ear as I plunged in and out of her.

Beep! I looked down at my phone, and a smile spread across my face.

Sam: I'm a little hungry.

I shook my head and began to text her back.

So go eat, I texted.

Sam: Not hungry 4 food.

My eyes grew big. Oh, this sounded interesting.

What are you hungry for?

Sam: Your mouth. Your abs. Your biceps. All of you.

God, my dick was starting to twitch again. I quickly texted her back.

How can I help?

Sam: Carly and Spencer are asleep. Come over. Try 2 be quiet.

I grinned and texted her again.

I'll try not to make you scream, but that's up to you.

A final text beeped in from Sam that got me out of my chair in a heartbeat.

Sam: Not if I make u scream first.

I snuck through my living room and across the hall, and tapped on the door gently. It opened not a second later to reveal Sam, wearing my t-shirt. I hadn't seen it in three weeks, so I guess she must have taken it when she ran away. Little minx, I'd make her pay for stealing my stuff. She grabbed me by my shirt collar and yanked me inside, kissing me roughly.

"Mmm, miss me Mrs. Benson?" I whispered in her ear before nibbling on the lobe. She shivered.

"Come on, studio. Now. Did you bring a condom?" she asked in a whisper.

"Of course." I responded. She led me upstairs to the studio and shut the door quietly, before attacking me again, pressing her body against mine.

"I want you so bad right now," she murmured in my ear before reaching down to grab my dick in her hand. I moaned, biting her neck. Without warning, I scooped her up in my arms, groaning as she wrapped her legs around me. I sat her down on the desk, grinding against her. The only thing separating me from heaven was my pajama bottoms and the thin material of her boyshorts.

"These have to go," I said, before pulling her shirt – my shirt – over her head and dropping it to the ground. I made quick work of her bra, kissing her, sucking on her bottom lip before biting it, pushing my tongue into her mouth. She pulled at my shirt and I ripped it over my head and tossed it somewhere behind her. She moaned as our bare chests made contact. I loved how warm her skin was. I kissed her deeply before trailing my lips over her jaw, down her neck, licking and sucking on her collarbone. She loved when I did that. Lower I went, taking a hard nipple into my mouth and running my tongue over it. She arched into me, loving it. I went even lower, kissing down her stomach, then skipped over the place she wanted my mouth most to nibble on her thighs. Her head lolled back and she groaned, her legs going over my shoulders. Oh, yeah. I gripped the waistband of her boyshorts with my teeth and pulled them down her legs until they fell to the ground.

"God, Freddie," she panted. "That's so fucking hot."

"Where do you want my mouth, Sam?" I ask, kissing up her leg, pausing to lick and suck on the inside of her knee. She bucked her hips, a low growl coming from her throat.

"Tell me where you want my mouth." I said again, kissing up to her thigh, sucking on it, biting it. She cried out.

"Shhh," I told her, my hand going up to her mouth to cover it. She responded by sucking on my middle finger, and it made me even harder than before. I wasn't giving in though; I wanted to hear her beg for me. I pulled my hand away and grabbed both of her legs, spreading them apart. My mouth went to her other thigh.

"Tell me," I said, licking where her thigh met her sweet, sensitive womanhood. She whimpered. "Where do you want my mouth, baby?" I murmured against her skin, the vibrations driving her crazy. She tried to move herself so my mouth made contact where she wanted it most, but I held her steady. I wasn't going to give in.

"Mmmm," I moaned against her. "I wish you'd tell me, what part of your sweet," I kissed her thigh. "Sexy." Another kiss on the other thigh. "Body, that you want my mouth and my tongue on,"

"God, Freddie!" she whined. "Please!"

"Please what?" I licked a steady trail up her thigh, stopping just short of her sex, which was glistening with her arousal.

"Oh god, I want your mouth THERE," she said pointedly.

"Here?" my mouth went to her hip bone, sucking on it.

"Nooo..." she moaned. "You KNOW where."

I shook my head. "No idea. I can do this all night though." My tongue traced around the 'F' she had so painstakingly shaved into her pubic hair the night before. She went back to bucking her hips to get to my mouth.

"Freddie, please..."

"Do you want my mouth here?" I ran a fingertip up her sweet wet slit and she moaned.

"Yes, yes! There! Please..."

"I forget, you want my mouth where?" I was teasing her bad now, and she was beginning to lose it. I almost had her where I wanted her.

"Freddie...oh...god...Freddie." I went back to kissing right above that luscious spot, right on her pubic bone.

"Tell me what you want me to do to you." I let one hand travel up her body to take a nipple between my fingers, continuing to lick around her sweet sex, teasing but not touching.

"God...Freddie...oh...stop teasing me!" she cried. "This is torture!"

I laughed lightly against her skin. "Is it?" I'm sure it probably felt like it, but I knew what I was doing. Sam had almost let me walk out on her in Vegas because she couldn't talk about her feelings. Tonight I would break that.

"Yes!" she cried. "You're killing me!"

I shook my head, laughing when she jumped at the feeling of my hair brushing against her thighs. "All this would go away if you just tell me what you want me to do to you." Another lick across her pubic bone.

"Ah!" she cried. "Freddie..."

"Tell me what you want, baby, and I'll give it to you..." I moved up to lick over her ribs. "Anyway you want." I kissed lower. "As long as you want." My tongue ran across her pelvic bone. "Just tell me what you want me to do..." I kissed mere centimeters away from her sweet sex, which was probably throbbing by now. "And I'll do it until you beg me to stop."

"Freddie, I want your mouth on me!" she said, her head hanging back as she propped herself up on her arms.

"Where? Here?" I moved up her body to suck on her sweet nipples again, and her hand went to my head, trying to push it down. I resisted. "Where?"

"Here." she tried to point, I just took her hand in my mouth, sucking and biting on her fingertips.

"Not good enough, Sam. Where do you want my mouth? Say it!" My mouth closed over her breast again. I was absolutely throbbing at this point, but I didn't care. Breaking Sam's silent streak was more important.

"Ahhh...Freddieeeee." She moaned. "I want your mouth down there...on my..."

"On your..." I moved my mouth lower down her body.

"On my..."

"Yeah?" I was inches away.

"God, Freddie, just put your mouth on my pussy! Please! Oh god, I need it!" Man that was hot! I was rock hard now, and ready to give her anything she wanted.

"As you wish, Princess," I said before I began licking at her sweet sex. I heard her moan in satisfaction, as if to say, Finally! One hand went to the back of my head, pushing my face into her further. God, that made me even harder! I spread her apart with my fingers, exposing her most sensitive area. My tongue moved in lazy circles around her sweet, hard little clit. She wouldn't stop moaning. She couldn't stop. Her thighs were quivering, hips bucking, body shaking.

"God, Freddie, oh my god...oh...baby..." She was getting close, I could feel it. I slid a finger inside her, searching for that special spot, and then crooking my finger.

"Oh!"

"Feel good, baby?" I mumbled against her.

"Yes, don't stop! Oh!" She was full-on grinding her hips into my face, and I loved it. I moved my finger in and out of her, adding another, my tongue rolling over her clit repeatedly.

"God, I'm so close..."

I quickened the pace of my fingers and pressed harder against her sensitive g-spot, twisting my fingers, crooking them, rubbing against her walls. My lips closed around her clit and I sucked on it, rubbing the flat of my tongue against it.

"Oh!" Sam's whole body stiffened as she quaked against me. "Oh! Freddie! Aaah!" I felt her body spasm against my fingers and I continued to plunge them in and out of her, my mouth not coming off of her. I wanted to see if I could pull another orgasm out of her sweet body. She jerked against me, sensitive after her explosion.

"Freddie, aaah!" She tried to push my head away, I just wrapped my free arm around her hips and pressed her against me closer. "Freddie, it's too...aaah..."

"Too good?" I murmured against her skin. My fingers crooked against her g-spot again, and my tongue teased the hood that covered her sensitive little clit, which by now was swollen, rock hard, and probably bright red.

"Oh, god...Freddie...oh god." She gave up fighting me and began to enjoy the sensations. In no time at all I had her shaking again as her whole world shattered around her and she came forcefully against my mouth. Oh yeah, that's right. I'm the man. I finally released her from my mouth and sat back, pulling my fingers away from her. I wiped my mouth and looked at her, still trembling. I gained my feet and climbed onto the table, wrapping my arms around her, kissing her sweaty forehead. She was whimpering and still shaking.

"Shhh," I said, kissing her. She could taste herself on my tongue and moaned. "You feel better, baby?" She nodded, still shaking. My mouth went to her ear, nibbling on her earlobe and snaking my tongue just behind it. "We're not done yet," I whispered.

"Oh, god." she said. I stood up, making quick work of taking off my pants and rolling a condom over my erection. I started to climb on top of the table again, but thought better of it and pulled her to her feet.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Turn around," I replied, turning her around myself and pulling her body against mine. I kissed her neck, my hands running over her breasts. One hand dipped down to rub her clit. She jerked from the contact; she was still so sensitive.

"God, Freddie, I love the way you make me feel."

"I love you," I said simply, before turning her head to the side so I could kiss her. She broke the kiss.

"I love you too," she said before kissing me again. God, I loved hearing her say that. I swear it made me even harder.

"Bend over, baby." I murmured in her ear. She bent over the table, peering over my shoulder to look at me.

This was a nice position. It left parts of Sam's skin exposed that I couldn't kiss and touch last night when we made love for the first time. I bent over her to kiss on her neck and her back. She moaned, calling out my name. Finally I slid inside her, both of us moaning in unison, and began to pump in and out of her slowly, excruciatingly slow. She gripped the table so hard her knuckles turned white.

Sam was already sensitive from all the time I had taken loving her body, it didn't take her very long to explode. I could feel her tight, slick walls, shuddering around me, and it was hard not to let go myself, but I wasn't done yet. I quickened my pace, trying to angle my hips down to rub against her g-spot. I wanted to feel her cum again and again. It did something to me, something I couldn't get enough of. Making love to Sam was like a drug. An addiction with no cure. Except more Sam.

"God, Freddie!" she moaned. Her hand went behind her body, searching for mine. I held it and bent over her, kissing her neck sweetly.

"I love you, baby." I murmured against her neck.

"God, I love you," she gasped. She let go of my hand and gripped the desk again. She was getting close. I quickened my pace, my hand snaking around her body to rub her hard little clit.

"Aaaaaah!" she bucked against my hand. "Freddddddieeeeee..."

"Take me with you this time, gorgeous." I continued to thrust in and out, and quickened my pace on the hard little nubbin between her legs. I couldn't hold back anymore, I wanted to explode inside her.

"Oh god, Freddie..." she threw her head back and my hand went to her chin, holding her head back as my mouth devoured hers, both of us cumming together.

"Aaaahhhh..." I moaned into her mouth. I came harder than I ever had, even last night with her. Something about being inside her while kissing her made it all the more intense. I waited for the spasms to subside then collapsed on top of her, my heart beating a mile a minute.

"Wow," I murmured against her back. "That was incredible." I pulled out of her and made quick work of disposing the protection, then walked back over to her, where she still lay stretched across the table. I ran a hand lightly over her back and she shuddered, still moaning softly. Her breath fogged the table up as she panted heavily. I pulled her up and picked her up in my arms, walking her over to one of the bean bag chairs and laying her down. I collected our clothes and then came back, squeezing into the bean bag with her. Her hand went around my neck, pulling her mouth to mine, where she kissed me softly.

"How was that?" I asked, kissing her forehead.

"God, that was amazing. What was that...like..."

"Four times? Oh yeah." I finished before kissing her again. She moaned.

"Four times? I can't believe..." she trailed off. "They never said that was possible in health class."

I laughed. "So I made love to you real good, huh?"

She shoved at my chest. "Shut up, Benson. You know you did." I got comfortable in the chair and pulled her against me, sighing happily when she laid her head on my chest. "I love the way you make me feel. I love you."

"I love you too," I responded simply, playing with her hair.

"So you don't regret...you know, marrying me?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Of course not. I love you. I want to be with you forever." I responded. She sighed against my chest happily and I kissed her forehead.

I hated having to get dressed and go our separate ways, her to Carly's room, and I back to my apartment. It didn't seem right not being able to drift off to sleep holding her against me, my fingers curling around her beautiful hair like I did last night. I wouldn't be able to see her face first thing in the morning. I hated it.

She seemed to hate it too, because she whined against my neck when I hugged her to leave, and wouldn't let me go. "I wish you didn't have to leave," she whispered in my ear.

"I know. This is only temporary, Sam. We'll tell everyone eventually, and then we'll get our own place, and everything will be great." I said, kissing her. She nodded.

"You'll come over tomorrow morning?" she asked.

"Of course." I couldn't stop myself from kissing her. "First thing. Love you Mrs. Benson," I said as I opened Carly's front door and crept into the hallway.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay, the actual Beatles' song is called "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey", but this just worked so much better. I wish I had a Gibby! (and a Freddie. =D ) Little reference to one of my fav. movies in here, but not stealing it, just paying homage!**

**Chapter Twelve**  
><strong>Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Gibby<strong>

~* Sam *~

I was sitting on the couch in Carly's apartment, idly flipping channels looking for something to watch. Freddie was sitting next to me, half paying attention to the tv, half fooling around with his PearPad. I came across some cartoon movie, and Freddie's hand came down on mine so I wouldn't change the channel.

"Hey it's Despicable Me! I love that movie!" he said.

"Looks dumb," I responded, but continued to watch, because he liked it. I raised my eyebrows.

"Hey! That kid sounds like Carly!"

"Yeah, I guess, a little bit." Freddie responded.

"No, she sounds JUST LIKE Carly!" I replied. I let my head fall back to the couch. "Yo Carls!"

Carly came bounding down the stairs. "Yeah?"

"Are you moonlighting as a voice-over actress?" I asked, looking at her upside down.

She made a confused face. "No, why?"

"This little kid sounds just like you." I said, pointing at the tv.

"Oh, Despicable Me? Yeah, that's what Spencer said. He even went as far to say someone was stealing voice bits off iCarly. He's so weird."

"This is too freaky," I responded, changing the channel. "I'm hungry." I turned to Freddie. "Can we order a pizza?"

"You just ate!" Freddie said, giving me a Look.

I ignored his comment. "Hey, Spence, wanna get a pizza?"

Spencer looked up from the giant statue of an octopus on rollerskates he was making. "Can we get stuffed crust?"

"Ooo, stuffed crust!" Carly and I said. Freddie rolled his eyes.

"I'm not paying for the entire thing this time. You're gonna drive me right into the poor house. Or the nuthou...ow!" Freddie rubbed the spot on his head where I had smacked him.

"Fine, I'll pay half. Carly, can you grab a ten out of my bag?" I asked. "It's in your room."

"Sure," Carly replied, turning to go up the stairs.

~* Carly *~

God, Sam was turning my room into a disaster area. There were clothes and sneakers EVERYWHERE. I searched under piles of clothes until I found Sam's messenger bag, pulling open the flap and looking for money. I dug in deeper, and a piece of paper fell out. Must be Sam's emancipation order. She'd need that.

I picked it up and looked at it, then just as quickly, dropped it like it were a snake. I gasped. Bravely, I picked it up again, reading it.

I was so shocked I had to sit down.

I was holding a marriage license. And it had Sam and Freddie's names on it.

Oh. My. God.

~* Sam *~

I was so excited I was bouncing off the walls. The first iCarly webcast in over a month and a half. Back in business baby! I had missed doing the show. Other than meat and molesting Freddie, iCarly was my true passion.

Carly was majorly dragging ass though. She was missing her cues, her comedic timing...well, her comedic everything, was off. She just seemed...somewhere else. Brad and Freddie were looking at her with confused looks on their faces. Carly never messed up on camera. Something was up with that girl.

"And coming up next, in honor of my return, we've got Spencer and Gibby performing traditional Celtic bagpipe music...on electric kazoo!" I waited for Carly to chime in, but nothing. I nudged her. "Carly..." I said through gritted teeth. "Carly!"

"Hey, Carly, what's wrong with you?" Freddie zoomed in on her face.

"Yeah, Carls, you're being weird. Tell the viewers what's up."

Silence.

"Carly?" I poked her in the ribs. "Carly? Carl-"

"Why didn't you tell me that you and Freddie got married?" She blurted out in a shriek, in her Carly freak out way. "WHAT THE HELL YOU GUYS ARE MARRIED!"

Shit.

Gibby and Spencer gasped dramatically, like two old ladies, turning to look at Freddie, then me, then Freddie again. Brad was a little bit cooler, he didn't gasp aloud, but his hand went to his mouth and his eyes widened, before turning down to look at his sneakers, the look on his face clearly stating he didn't want to be around for the drama that was sure to follow. Crash! Freddie dropped the camera! He quickly picked it up, turning it towards his face. On the screen behind him I could see the lens was cracked. You have GOT to be kidding me, I'd had less than 24 hours of peace, and I was PISSED.

"Oh shit! I mean, oh shoot, I mean...technical difficulties, sorry!" He hurried over to his laptop and shut down the webcast.

My face automatically went into my hands. Oh. My. God. My best friend was a total blabbermouth with no control, and it was a shame she'd never have the chance to grow out of it. Because I was about to kill her.

"Carly what the hell! You just blurted out to the entire world that Freddie and I are married have you lost your mind?" I yelled, grabbing her and shaking her shoulders. I was BEYOND pissed. This was not how Freddie and I wanted to break the news to everyone, and we certainly didn't want to announce it to the entire internet! We were fucked!

"My mind? I'm not the one who's married!" Carly screamed. "You guys got married! I mean...you got married! Oh my god! Why? When?"

"Dude, she's gonna hit her..." Gibby trailed off. "Someone deal with this!"

"Shut up, Gibby! That'd be like kicking a puppy, I'm not gonna hit her," I snapped.

I shot a look at Freddie, worried. He was leaning against the desk, clearly pissed he had dropped his camera, arms crossed, a scowl plastered across his face. Spencer and Gibby were just watching us like it was a soap opera. Brad, on the other hand, was pretending to be busy at least, trying to swap the broken camera lens out with another one.

"Well?" Carly huffed.

"Carly, just calm down," Freddie snapped. "Sam couldn't get emancipated unless she got married, because she had a record. My uncle decided to override the age requirement for us. We got married in his office."

"So you just married her so she could get emancipated?" Carly asked, still breathing heavily. "So it's not like a real marriage." Wait, what the hell did that mean? Was I not marriage material or something? Great best friend I have here!

Before things could get more heated, Freddie cut in. Lucky you, Carly.

"Oh no, it's real." Freddie walked to me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. "I love her." I smiled up at him. It was amazing how he'd managed to take me from 60 to 0 with just a few words. Who needs anger management when you have a Freddie Benson?

"What?" Carly screamed. "But...you...you guys didn't even date! You can't just get married!"

"Why not?" Freddie asked. "It's legally binding, approved by the state of Washington itself, signed by a superior court judge." He shrugged. "Sorry Carly, it's bulletproof." He stepped in front of me like he was prepared to do battle with Carly, and my hand went to his stomach, stopping him in his tracks. He looked at me, and I shook my head. He seemed to get it, Carly was just freaking out. Still, it was interesting how Freddie seemed ready to jump down anyone's throat just to protect me. Even our best friend. Huh, apparently I was good at calming him down too, how about that? Maybe we really were meant for each other.

"But you guys are sixteen!"

"So what?" I asked. "Carly, why are you being like this?"

"You promised no more secrets, Sam! What next, are you pregnant?"

"Of course not, we use protection, Carly!" I responded.

"Oh my god, you guys did it!" Gibby said gleefully.

"Shut up Gibby!" Carly, Freddie, and I all yelled.

"Wait...did you guys do it?" Carly asked.

"Well, the marriage isn't really binding unless it's consummated, Carly!" Freddie snapped, irritated.

"Oh my god Freddie consummated Sam!" Spencer said, sounding slightly freaked out. He and Gibby grabbed at each other's arms like two junior high school girls. It was incredibly annoying.

"Spencer shut up! The nub can consummate me all he wants!" I said, irritated. I watched Freddie give the guys a cocky look, raised eyebrows and all. Oh hell no, I'm not putting up with that.

"And I do," he said. "Every nigh—oof! Jesus, Sam..." Freddie doubled over after I elbowed him in the stomach, and I heard Brad snort, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Keep talking about it and you'll lose your consummation privileges, nerd!" I scolded him.

"Can we stop talking about this now?" Carly asked. "I don't want to think about you guys' sex life!"

"Carly, we have bigger problems. You just told the entire world that the co-host and the tech producer of iCarly married each other! Can you imagine what's going to happen now?"

"Oh shit, my mom!" Freddie said, a panic-stricken look coming across his face. Carly flashed him a shocked look.

"You mean your mom doesn't know yet?" she asked, horrified. He shook his head, looking sheepish.

"She doesn't know he got emancipated either." I responded. "We had to, to make the marriage stick. Carly, I thought you'd be happy for us."

Carly stood there for a second, silent, then finally looked back up at me. "I'm still pissed you didn't tell me." She paused. "But you guys really, like...love each other. Right?"

"Yeah, I do. I really do love him," I said. Everyone was staring at me like I'd just grown a second head. "What? Yes, Sam Benson has feelings!"

"Oh my god she said Sam Benson!" Spencer said, squealing like a girl and bouncing up and down. Gibby started bouncing up and down next to him, not speaking, which was weird, but typical Gibby.

"Carly, say something," Freddie prompted her.

"Don't you wanna like...do it right? With a real wedding and all that? And living in the same place?" Carly asked. "Spencer, Gibby, stop jumping up and down like that!"

"Well, yeah, eventually." I said. "Freddie and I talked about all that. We just have to wrap up all this other stuff first."

"Well, okay. Just don't get pregnant, please?" Carly responded.

"God, two Sams would kill me, I can barely handle one Sam," Freddie complained. Whack! "Stop hitting me, Sam! That's spousal abuse now!"

"Well then stop giving me spousal stupidity!" I shot back. Carly rolled her eyes.

"At least some things never change," she said.

~* Freddie *~

"I've changed my mind, I don't wanna do this," Sam declared as she slid away from my front door.

"Too bad," I replied, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "I thought you said you weren't afraid of 'Crazy', Sam," I teased her, running my fingers through her hair to ease her mind.

"Yeah well that was before I married her son," Sam responded. "Can't you do it by yourself, and just tell me how it goes?"

"Sure, if you don't want to act like an adult...ow!" I rubbed my nipple where she had reached up to pinch it. "I told you to stop doing that, it hurts!"

"Well I don't wanna go." Sam responded, crossing her arms. "I don't think she'll be a big fan of the person who deflowered her precious baby boy." She laughed as she watched my cheeks flush a bit.

"You're my wife," I responded. "Don't forget, I deflowered you too. Look, let's just get this over with. I'll buy you a double bacon fatburger afterwards." Her eyes lit up, and I laughed as I stuck my key in the door.

"Mom, I'm -"

"Fredward Karl Benson!" My mom was poised at her laptop, arms crossed, glaring at me.

"Hi," I choked out. "What's up?"

"Do you have something to tell me? Do the BOTH of you have something to tell me?" she asked, standing up. "Samantha," she said coolly, looking at Sam, who tried to hide behind me.

"Hi, Mrs. Benson," she squeaked.

"Likewise," my mom responded with a raise of her eyebrows. "I saw the webcast. And I just got off the phone with Uncle Milton. HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME YOU GOT MARRIED?"

"Mom, we had to do it!" I argued. "Without it, Sam's emancipation wouldn't stick!"

"I realize that, Freddie, and Uncle Milton explained that, but you should have told me! What if someone came here looking for her? I wouldn't know anything about this arrangement and we'd ALL get in serious trouble!" my mom roared. "I am very disappointed, in the both of you!"

I looked behind me at Sam, whose brows were furrowed in confusion. I was pretty sure she'd never had an adult disappointed in her before, just pissed off.

"Yes, Samantha, I'm talking to you too!" my mom said. "Just because the two of you got emancipated doesn't make you actual adults."

Okay, now I was confused too.

"Okay, so what exactly are you upset about, mom? That we got married?"

"Am I upset that you got married behind my back? Yes! And am I upset that you kept it a secret from me? You bet! You can't sneak around like you're Romeo and Juliet, you know what happened to those two."

"Actually, no..." Sam trailed off. I rolled my eyes.

"Sam, one of these days you're gonna have to pay attention in school," I said.

"Yes, she is, and she will! I'll make sure of that!" my mom said.

"Wait, what?" Sam and I said at the exact same time.

"Freddie, do you honestly think I'm going to let your WIFE flunk out of school? She's a Benson now, and Bensons don't screw up in school." I heard Sam groan.

"So...wait...you're not going to try to talk us out of this?" I asked.

"I honestly think you're too young, but it's done, isn't it? You clearly love her, so there's not much I can do. You'll both just go running off again," My mom sat back down on the couch. "Now, Sam, when do you think you'll be able to move in?"

"WHAT?"

"She's your wife, she's not gonna stay somewhere else, it isn't right," my mom said. "At least we can keep an eye on her that way."

"Seriously?" Sam had abandoned her place hiding behind me and I could tell by the way she stood she was seconds away from her "happy bounce".

"Of course," my mom responded. "Sam, Freddie told me a little bit about your situation. We're not all like that, dear."

Sam nodded. "I know."

"But there's a few rules." my eyebrows went up at the word "rules". Sam didn't tend to follow those. My mom continued. "First of all, are you two using protection?"

"Uh..." Sam started, clearly uncomfortable discussing our sex life with my mother.

"No worries, mom, we have that covered. Condoms all the way," I reassured.

"Okay, so...first rule, no babies. Secondly, BOTH of you have to go to college, there's not gonna be any of this skipping over higher education to start a family or any of that."

Sam cleared her throat. "I don't think that's a possibility, Mrs. Benson."

"It's Marissa to you, first of all, and secondly, what makes you think that?"

Sam's arms extended and she gestured to herself. "Look at me. I skip class, get detention, I'm a solid D student. Just your typical chick from the wrong side of the tracks. Girls like me? We don't go to college."

"Sam!" I yelled, exasperated. "What the hell? Since when are you so down on yourself?"

Sam stared back at me. "I am not down on myself, I'm realistic."

"Rule number three, I don't tolerate talk like that in my home!" my mom said. "Sam, that's not gonna cut it anymore. It's easy for you to be down on yourself because that's all you know. But things are going to change. Drastically. You ARE going to college. You'll just have to buckle down this year."

"Buckle down?" Sam looked at me. Help me, she pleaded with her eyes.

"Okay, mom, let's take it one step at a time, there's been a lot of drama going on lately, I'd like it if we could just let Sam readjust before you start making any demands on her, if that's alright." I said, giving my mom a Look.

"Fine, but I'm not kidding. When school starts back I'd better not see lower than B's out of both of you."

"But I've never gotten anything higher than a C!" Sam argued. I gave Sam a look and she quieted down, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And what else?" I asked. My mom shrugged.

"Use common sense. And just...try to be quiet. You know...I don't want to hear any of that." Her eyebrows went up, and Sam blushed furiously. I sighed, nodding.

"You got it, mom." I said. I walked to her and gave her a hug. "Thanks for being cool about this," I murmured in her ear. She nodded, then leaned to whisper in mine.

"Don't you hurt her."

I shook my head furiously. "Never."

My mom looked to Sam. "Well, Sam, welcome to the family."

Sam bit her lip, unsure of what to do. I walked to her and pulled her into my arms. "It's okay, baby." I said, kissing her on my forehead. "Hey." She looked up at me. "You're moving in."

We both stared at each other for a second, then broke out into wide smiles.

"Aaaah!" Sam squealed happily, both of us jumping up and down.

My mother shook her head and laughed.

"I'm never going to be able to live this down at the Aggressive Parenting meetings," she said.

"You could stop going," I suggested, shrinking as she glared at me. "It was just a suggestion!"


	13. Chapter 13:Don't Want To Spoil The Party

**Chapter Thirteen**

**I Don't Want To Spoil the Party**

~* Carly *~

I had just gotten back from the Groovie Smoothie with Brad and Gibby, and I was in foul mood. Sam was in the process of moving in with Freddie and his mom, which I never thought in a million years would happen. But Mrs. Benson was being oddly cool about all of that. I groaned to myself. There were TWO Mrs. Bensons now. I was glad Sam was back, but she was MARRIED. And I just couldn't get used to the idea. Sam got to experience all these amazing things that I hadn't gotten to yet, and probably wouldn't for years.

"Hey, Carly, you okay?" Brad nudged me as we stood in the elevator.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired." I responded.

"Well you better wake up, I'm dying to try out that new Dance Battle game Freddie installed before all this stuff started blowing up," Gibby said. "I'm a dance machine, baby!" He started dancing and pretending to hump my leg. I laughed, shoving him off of me.

"Fine, just keep your shirt on this time, okay?" I asked.

"I'll try my best, but I'm a maniac on the floor..." Gibby started to raise his shirt up suggestively, Brad swiftly pulled Gibby's shirt down.

"At least save it until we get in Carly's apartment, Gibs." Brad said.

The elevator dinged, and we stepped off, walking down the hall. I put my key in the door, trying to open the door, but I met resistance. My brows furrowed.

"What is wrong with this door?" I asked. I pounded on it. "Spencer!"

"Coming!" I could hear Spencer yell. I heard a bunch of rustling, slamming, and banging, and then the door pulled open to reveal Spencer, out of breath.

"Spencer, what's going on – oh my god." I said, looking around the apartment. "What is all this stuff?"

There were boxes EVERYWHERE, all of them gift wrapped. Boxes stacked on the floor, on the couch, the counters. Boxes on top of boxes.

"It's wedding presents for Sam and Freddie!" Spencer yelled happily, his arms spreading out over his head dramatically. "Isn't it great? I've counted four hundred and twelve!"

Ding dong!

"Four hundred and thirteen!" Gibby announced as he opened the door for the delivery man.

I was dumbstruck. "I can't believe this!" I said. "There's SO MUCH stuff!"

"Yeah, I know!" Spencer bounced up and down. "I just talked to Freddie, they'll be here soon."

"Where are they?"

"Shopping. Sam threatened to divorce him if she had to sleep on Galaxy Wars sheets again." Spencer replied.

I started scooting presents around on the couch to make room for myself to sit. Brad awkwardly scooted another present over and squeezed in next to me. Oh man, we were sitting so close together. His leg was touching mine! I started to get goosebumps.

Brad was cute, really cute. I hadn't really given him much thought, but...yeah. Definitely a hottie. Why should Sam have all the fun?

A knock sounded at the door, and it creaked open, Freddie poking his head in the door. "Yo," he said.

"You have deliveries!" Spencer announced, striking a pose. Freddie took stock of the the situation and his jaw dropped. He shoved the door open more to look closer at all the gifts.

"Holy shit," he said. "Where did all of this come from?"

"iCarly fans," I replied. "Where's Sam?"

"She said something about the kitchen layout not being meat friendly," he responded, stepping over the gifts. "She needs more room for her bacon."

"She really likes bacon, doesn't she?" Brad commented.

Freddie snorted. "That's an understatement. I'm just her second choice. If she could have married bacon -"

"Alright, I'm here!" Sam burst through the door. "Did you just say something about marrying bacon?"

"Is that even possible?" Gibby asked.

"I'm sure, somewhere in the world, it is," Brad said.

"I'm divorcing you," Sam said to Freddie, both of them grinning. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. Ugh, did they always have to be so lovey-dovey? It was starting to make me sick. Or was it jealousy? Couldn't be. It had to be just nausea. I struggled to pull their attention away from each other.

"Sam, look at all these gifts!" I said, standing up.

"Holy lord," Sam said. "These are all for us?"

"And these!" Spencer dragged a trashbag out from behind the counter. "Look, it's filled with envelopes!"

"Cash?" Sam dove for the bag, opening one envelope. "Ooh, giftcard! Oh. Technology World. Freddie, this one's for you." She flung the card at him, frisbee-style. He caught it and looked at the giftcard, his eyebrows lifting in surprise.

"Wow, fifty bucks!" Freddie exclaimed. He looked at the trashbag, back at the card, and at the bag again, then rushed over to look for more giftcards.

"It's gonna take you guys HOURS to go through all of this!" Gibby said. "Maybe we should go in shifts!"

"Yeah, just start opening boxes!" Sam called as she and Freddie continued to rifle through the bag. "Swedish furniture, overpriced kitchenware, INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF WAFFLES!" She hollered triumphantly, holding up a card over her head before planting a kiss in the middle of it.

"Here, Carly, open this one." Brad tossed me a box, and I began tearing the paper off of it. I stared at the unwrapped box for a moment, then quickly dropped it.

"Ew!" I cried.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"It's a case of condoms!" I whined.

Sam and Freddie glanced at each other, and Freddie gave her a mischievous look. "I wonder how long it would take for us to use all-"

"Ah! Stop!" I shrieked.

"Oh my god! La la la!" Spencer covered his ears.

Sam rolled her eyes. "You guys are going to have to get used to this eventually. It's not going to go away. Not now, not ever." She picked up the bag and threw it over her shoulder. "I'll be across the hall, sorting out my cool awesome giftcards from Freddie's useless crap."

Freddie waited for Sam to shut the door behind her, then he went to the door to listen for the sound of his apartment door shutting. "Okay, great, she's gone. You guys have to see this!" he pulled a small white box out of his pocket.

"What is it?" I asked, heading over to take a look. I gasped. "Freddie, is that-"

"My parents' wedding rings, yeah," Freddie finished. "My mom gave them to me this morning while Sam was in the shower."

I was so jealous, but my heart melted at the gesture. Freddie's mother had never really recovered from losing her husband, I knew how difficult it had to be for her let the rings go.

"Freddie, that is so sweet!" I gushed. "She's going to love them. I mean...look at that rock!" I pointed to Freddie's mom's old engagement ring, a single large diamond set on a white-gold band.

"Geez, how big IS that thing?" Gibby asked, peering over my shoulder.

"A little over a carat," Freddie responded. "And I got them fitted today. I even started a fight over Galaxy Wars sheets so she'd stomp off in the middle of the mall and leave me alone for a little while." he laughed.

"You picked a fight with Sam on purpose? Isn't that dangerous?" Brad asked.

Freddie shrugged. "Probably. But I think it was worth it." He looked up at me. "Do you really think she'll like it, Carly?"

"Are you kidding me? I mean, she'll be in shock because it's SO sweet, but yeah, she's gonna love it!" I said. "She's totally not used to any of this when it comes to guys."

"I know," Freddie responded. "And I'm gonna make her used to it." He put the box back in his pocket.

"I'll see you guys later," he said, and began to walk out the door, but stopped short and turned around. "Hey, Brad, toss me that box."

"You mean the..."

"Yep." Freddie had a sly smile on his face that made me want to gag.

"Ew, Freddie!" I said. He ignored me.

"The whole box?" Brad asked, incredulous.

"Better to be safe than sorry," Freddie responded as he caught the giant box of condoms Freddie threw at him. "Later guys!"

The door shut behind him, and I turned to stare at the three guys in my apartment. "Can you believe that? I bet all they do is have sex!" I exclaimed.

"God, I am so jealous," Gibby commented.

"Gibby!"


	14. Chapter 14: I've Got A Feeling

A/N: Had a lot of fun with this chapter. I've been trying to work on my comedy writing a little bit more. Would like some feedback on it!

**Chapter Fourteen**

**I've Got A Feeling**

~* Sam *~

"Oh my god, that has to be some kind of a record," I murmured against Freddie's shoulder as we laid in bed together, sheets tangled around our sweaty bodies. He bent his head down to brush his lips against mine.

"You sure?" he asked against my lips. "We could go again just to be certain."

I giggled and shoved at him lightly. "You might collapse from dehydration if we do that...what do they call it, shooting blanks?"

I watched him close his eyes and wrinkle his nose as he laughed. "Sam, that's disgusting!" He rolled onto his side to prop up on his elbow and look at me, his free hand finding my hair, tangling it around his fingers like always. He loved playing with my hair, and I loved letting him.

"Whatcha thinking about Fredduccini?" I asked before kissing him on his nose.

"You wanna go out later?" he asked. "I mean, we got married and we never even went out!"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" I teased. He rolled his eyes.

"I just thought I'd give you a few hours off from my studliness." He made an exaggerated show of flexing his bicep, and even though I knew he was just joking around, I couldn't stop myself from reaching a hand to his rock hard muscle and squeezing. Cool it Sam, I reminded myself. This was how you ended up in bed with him twenty minutes ago. I had walked out of the kitchen to find Freddie on the floor, shirtless and doing pushups...and the rest was a blur...I'm pretty sure we broke a lamp during the commotion. We'd been going at it so often lately, I was honestly starting to get sore.

"Sure, we could go out," I said, my hand still squeezing his bicep. Focus, Sam.

He rolled onto his back, the lower half of his body barely covered by a sheet. My hand continued squeezing his bicep, and my eyes flicked up to meet his. He licked his lips and stared me down, not saying a word, but I knew exactly what he was thinking.

"But...we don't want to go to dinner super early..." I began.

A smirk began to form across Freddie's perfect lips. "No. We don't."

"And I won't take that long to get ready..."

"Neither will I."

I was silent. Resist, Sam! Resist! Focus, focus...

Fuck it.

I ripped the sheet away from his body and leapt on top of him.

"Dinner can wait," I muttered before attacking his mouth with mine, moaning as he flipped me onto my back.

Thirty minutes later we had managed to pry ourselves off each other long enough to get showered. I was finishing up my makeup when Freddie emerged from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, water droplets still clinging to his bare chest and dripping down his abs. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, and I jumped as cold water droplets hit my neck and shoulders. I squealed, pushing him off me.

"You're getting me wet!" I laughed.

"Oh really?" he asked, grinding his hips into my butt. I snorted.

"Not that kind of wet, dork." I squealed again as he shook his head from side to side, water going everywhere and soaking my hair and shirt. "Stop!"

He laughed, walking away from me to pull clothes out of his closet. "Where do you wanna go?"

I shrugged. "Groovie Smoothie?" I suggested, applying lipgloss to my mouth, ignoring the fact that it would probably be rubbed off in a few minutes.

"Ehh..." Freddie said. "Not really in the mood."

"Fatburger?"

"Nope."

I groaned. "Then you tell me what you want, Fredweeb."

"Oh, you know what I want, baby." Suddenly the towel sailed through the air and landed on top of my head. I jerked it off, annoyed, but all annoyance faded away as my eyes focused on Freddie in all his naked glory. God...I felt like I had won the lottery...the nookie lottery...with that one. He was just so HOT.

"Whatcha staring at?" he teased, his eyebrow raising up mischievously.

"I think your biceps are getting bigger than my head," I commented. "I better leave and let you get dressed in peace, or we're gonna end up having to shower again."

"There's plenty of water," he said, slinking toward me.

"Freddie, I'm getting sore!" I laughed. "Give me a few hours to recover. I'll be in the living room."

"Fine," he said mournfully.

"You're so sexy when you pout," I teased. I kissed him briefly, then exited the bedroom, closing the door behind me. I walked into the kitchen to grab a soda before we left, passing by Freddie's mom who was sitting on the couch.

"Oh, Sam..." she called in a sing-song voice. I froze.

"Yes...Marissa?" It was so weird calling her that!

"Sit down, honey, we need to talk," she patted the seat next to her, and I eyed her suspiciously. Nothing good ever came from the phrase "we need to talk", and in my experience it usually ended with me getting shoved into a piece of furniture. I crept toward her cautiously, like a scared little deer. I couldn't maintain my uber-bitch persona around her, for one thing she wouldn't put up with it, and for another, the woman saw right through it.

"...so what's up?" I asked, perching on the edge of the couch.

"You and Freddie have been getting...intimate quite a lot lately."

Okay, time to stand up. I moved to raise up, and her hand went to my knee, bringing me back down. Shit, I'm trapped!

"Uh-huh," I said. "...but we've been trying to be quiet, I swear Marissa! If it's a problem..."

"No, no sweetie, it's completely normal, especially for newlyweds! Why, when Freddie's father and I first got together, I swear..." she laughed. "We were going at it so much I'd get so sore I couldn't sit down!"

Ewww...that sounded oddly familiar. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. No more thongs, Sam.

"Um, Marissa, as much as I enjoy girltalk, I think maybe..." I began to mumble, and she cut me off.

"My point is, you do realize condoms aren't 100% effective, right?"

"Well, yes..."

"So tomorrow I'm taking you to the doctor."

"Um...really?" I asked.

"You'll have to wake up before eight AM. But we'll get you on birth control, it's safer, and it may help with your PMS problem."

My hand went to my hip. "How do you know I have a PMS problem?" I asked. Marissa gave me a Look.

"Okay, fine!" I spat. "I'll go to the doctor tomorrow and get birth control!"

"Great!" Marissa said brightly. "So I'll see you in the morning then, you kids have fun!"

Just then Freddie came out of the bedroom, looking sexy as ever in a sky blue polo and dark jeans. Oh god. Want to lick him.

"Hey," he said. "You ready?"

"Uh-huh," I murmured. God, why must he be so bicepy?

"Italian?" he said.

"Ooh! Hell yeah...I mean...sure." I replied as Marissa gave me a look. She didn't like swearing, that's for sure!

"Okay. Mom, we'll be back in a few hours," Freddie said, bending down to hug her.

"You two have fun, don't stay out too late, you have to get up early Sam!" Marissa called to me as we headed to the door. Freddie shut the door behind us and looked at me quizzically.

"Why do you have to get up early? It's summer," Freddie said.

I shrugged. "Your mom's taking me to get birth control," I said.

"Ooh! So no more condoms?" Freddie asked, sounding slightly giddy.

"Easy boy," I chastised him. "There's still like...a waiting period. I think."

"Oh," he said flatly. "Oh well. I can deal. Let's go, I'm starving."

"Me too. We've been working up quite an appetite today," I teased, laughing as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

I wasn't used to being THIS happy. It was slightly unsettling, because now that I knew what it felt like, I didn't want to lose it. Freddie and I walked to the elevator, and as we waited for the doors to open, I stared at him, lost in my own thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" he murmured, taking my hand. I shrugged.

"Everything's been going so good lately...it just seems unreal," I responded. "Like, I keep waiting for the bottom to drop out any second."

Freddie pulled me closer to him. "That was the way things used to be, Sam. Not the way they're going to be. I promise." He kissed me softly. "Just trust me, okay?" I nodded, and he smiled at me in that way he did that made me feel like he would protect me no matter what.

Ding! The elevator doors opened. "Come on. I'm about to keel over," he said as he dragged me onto the elevator.

"How is it that you're hungrier than me for a change?" I asked as I pressed the button to take us to the lobby.

"I'm on top more," he quipped.

Tweak.

"Ow! STOP DOING THAT!" Freddie shouted, rubbing his sore nipple. I said nothing, just grinned to myself as the elevator began its descent down to the ground floor.

~*Carly*~

"Oh! In your face Gibster!" I hollered as I jumped down from the Dance Battle platform. "I just beat your best score!"

"Shut up, I'm dehydrated!" Gibby yelled back, chugging his sports drink. "After I get my liquid levels back up, your ass is grass baby!"

"Whatever, sounds to me like you're loading up on HATERADE, boy!," I said, doing a victory dance in circles around him.

Gibby, Brad, and I were hanging out upstairs in the studio, having a dance off. Well, Gibby and I were having a dance-off, Brad was sitting on top of the desk, legs crossed, laughing at me and Gibby's banter.

"Actually, I think it's Brad's turn to dazzle us with his fancy footwork," I said, looking over at him.

"Oh no, I don't dance," Brad replied. "I'm more of a spectator."

"Oh come on, Brad!" I whined. "Don't be a stick in the mud!"

"It's not pretty, Carly, I promise," Brad responded, trying to shake my hands off his arms as I yanked him off the desk.

"One level," I pleaded. "Come on! Just let go and act immature for a change!"

Brad groaned. "Fine! One round, then Gibby gets to stomp your ass."

"That's right! Prepare to be eliminated woman! Grrrr!" Gibby flexed his muscles and made a mean face. I laughed.

"Fine, whatever. Just go, Brad!" I started to walk to the machine to crank it back up, but before I could my phone vibrated with a new text message. I picked it up off the table and looked at it. "Wow, it's from Freddie. I thought those two would be in a sex coma by now." I read through the message, and a grin spread across my face. "Hey, Gibby?"

"Yes?" I turned to find Gibby in a random yoga pose.

"What the hell?" I said, shaking my head. "You wanna take this challenge to a real dance floor?"

"Do tell." A hand went to Gibby's face as he began stroking an imaginary beard.

"Freddie said Sam's being kind of weird, so after they finish up with dinner he wants us to meet them at Quisp."

"What's Quisp?" Brad asked.

"It's this really awesome under-21 dance club," I replied. "You down? It's a totally different place for you to sulk in a corner and look cooler than everyone."

"I do not sulk!" he responded indignantly, crossing his arms.

"You're doing it right now," Gibby pointed out, ducking from the cup Brad had just launched at his head. "Come on, B-Rad, you in or out?"

Brad rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll go. Can I use your shower, Carly?"

I shrugged. "Sure. You know where the bathroom is."

"When are we leaving?" Gibby asked, leaning over my shoulder to read the text from Freddie. He blew a bubble with his chewing gum, and I reached over my shoulder, smacking the bubble and causing it to pop all over his face.

"Aah!" he said.

Brad's shoulders sagged. "I'll get the peanut butter."

"Actually mayonnaise works better!" I called as he headed downstairs. I felt a pair of eyes on me and turned to face Gibby. "What? Sorry about your face."

"You like him," he said pointedly.

"What?" I responded. "No I don't."

Gibby nodded, a smile creeping across his face. "You loooove him. You want to make babies with him!"

"Gibby shut up!" I exclaimed, turning red. I shoved his shoulder slightly. "I don't like Brad."

"Whatever, Carly, I can tell the way you look at him. You looooooove him."

"Gibby!" I hissed. "Shut up!"

"What? Come on, dude, the guy's been watching you hop around on a light-up dance board for the better part of an hour. He hangs around even when we're not working on iCarly stuff!" Gibby responded. "Make a move on him tonight."

"What? No way!" I said. "Besides...I don't want you to feel like the fifth wheel tonight."

"Uh, we're going to a club chocked full of hot girls, what makes you think I want to hang out with you guys tonight?" Gibby replied. My eyebrows went up, caught off-guard by Gibby's bluntness, and I tried to focus on the issue at hand.

"Gibby, I am not going to HIT on Brad! What if it scares him off? Freddie will kill me if I chase off our assistant. Besides, somebody's gotta keep Freddie from always zooming in on Sam's boobs, it's starting to get out hand."

"Oh yeah, because having hot chicks with runway model bodies hit on you is absolutely terrifying. I scream in terror every time it happens." Gibby said sarcastically.

"You think I have a runway model body?" I asked with a grin.

"Carly! Stop being a puss and do it!" Gibby hollered. I took a slight step back, my eyes wide.

"I'm not a puss," I said softly. "Look, just shut up before he comes back!"

"Carly, I swear to god, if you don't hit on Brad tonight...I'll...I'll never do another segment for iCarly again!" Gibby threatened.

"Gibby!" I gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh I would," he countered. "You need a boyfriend, Carly, and not one that's a total douchebag! And one you can wear your tall shoes with!"

"You mean my heels?" I replied.

"Whatever! Just do it!" Gibby said. "Or I go iGibby."

"iGibby?"

"You heard me woman!" Gibby threatened. "I'll defect and start my own show! And I'll NEVER wear a shirt on camera! Neverrrrr!" To demonstrate his "seriousness", Gibby ripped off his shirt and threw it at my head.

"I'm back!" Brad announced as he opened the door. "I had trouble finding the mayonnaise."

"Where was it?" I asked.

"In the bathroom," he replied. "Should I be concerned?"

"No," I replied. "Spencer brings food products into the shower. It's normal for...here."

"Oh," Brad responded. "Well, here you go Gibs. I'm gonna go hop in the shower. I'll let you know if I find the pickles or something." He opened his mouth to say something, presumably about Gibby's lack of shirt, but pursed his lips and shook his head, tossing the jar of mayonnaise to Gibby and then leaving, shutting the door behind him.

I laughed awkwardly. "Okay!" As soon as the door shut, I whipped my head around to look at Gibby. "I'm not doing it."

"You're doing it!"

"Gibby!"

"Carly!"

"Hey Carly?" Brad stuck his head back in the door, and I nearly jumped three feet into the air.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

"This outfit is okay for this place we're going, right?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, you look great," I said with an encouraging smile. He really did, he looked gorgeous! Oh my god. This was a horrible idea.

"Okay, cool." He flashed me a smile and shut the door behind him.

I threw Gibby's shirt back at him angrily. "I'm not going to do it."

"Don't make me call Sam," Gibby threatened. "It'll be just as painful for me as it will be for you, but I'll do it!"

My head hung down, defeated. "Fine. I'll do it. But if this goes badly I'll get Sam to give you the worst double purple-nurple known to man!"

Gibby shrugged. "Alright. Deal." He extended his arm, and we shook hands.

"Why are you so concerned about my love life anyway, Gibs?"

"I don't want the chicks thinking I'm with you. No offense or anything. I'll see you guys there. Later Carls." Gibby brushed by me and exited the studio, leaving me alone and utterly perplexed. I rushed to the door, yanking it open.

"That's my mayonnaise!" I hollered.

"Deal with it!" he yelled back.

I rolled my eyes then looked at my watch. Oh god, I had half an hour to look incredibly stunning before I made a move on Brad. I gulped, and then ran straight for my bedroom.


	15. Chapter 15: Happy Just To Dance With You

**A/N: Hot off the presses! Starts off sweet...but Freddie can be quite naughty when he wants to be! (Lemony deliciousness!)**

**Chapter Fifteen  
><strong>**I'm Happy Just to Dance With You**

~*Sam*~

"Oh my god...did I mention how much I LOVE Italian food?" I moaned as I shoved another meatball in my mouth. "I mean, I really love it."

Freddie looked over the table at me and laughed, shaking his head. "You're so classy. I love it."

I shrugged, twirling more spaghetti onto my fork.

"So..." Freddie shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"So?" my eyebrows went up. The nub was up to something. I could feel it.

"I've been thinking," he began. Uh oh. It was never good when Freddie started thinking. I hoped he wasn't having second thoughts about everything. Had I missed something?

"About?" I countered nervously.

"This," he produced a white box from under the table and slid it toward me. "It's for you."

I stared at the box, perplexed. I wasn't the jewelry type, so I didn't have a clue what could be in the box. It was too small to fit an annulment notice. Distraction, Sam. Go!

"Is this that new toothpick I saw on tv I wanted?" I asked brightly. "Cuz I've been wanting one of those for awhile, you know, it would really come in handy."

Freddie shook his head. "It's not a toothpick." Okay Benson, you win. I'll bite.

"Then what is it?" I grabbed the box and pulled the lid off. Wow. I leaned back in my chair, stunned. "Oh my god. Freddie..."

It was a gorgeous white-gold ring with a HUGE diamond in the middle of it, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Next to Freddie's...nevermind. This was gorgeous. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't even sure if I deserved something this beautiful.

"Do you like it?" he asked, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"I love it," I said softly, picking it up. "It's beautiful..."

"It was my mom's." he said. "She gave it to me to give to you."

I bit my bottom lip, mostly because I was sure it would begin to tremble if I didn't. I had been bursting into tears way too often over the past month or so, and it needed to stop. I was going to lose my rep if I didn't. Still, there came those tears. Marissa had actually given her expensive wedding ring to Freddie...to give to me? I didn't understand it. No one had EVER given me something like this before. It was better than a storebought ring, it had years of sentiment and love behind it.

"Thank you," I whispered, sliding it on my ring finger. "I'll never take it off."

Freddie held up his hand. "This was my dad's." I looked at the matching white-gold band on Freddie's finger, and a smile spread across my face, my hand reaching across the table for his.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" I asked.

"Yep," he replied, grinning. "Like every day."

"Well don't forget it, nub." I responded. "Or I'll hit you."

"Yeah, I know," he said, leaning over the table to kiss me. I grabbed his collar to force him to kiss me just a little bit longer. I released his shirt and he sat back down, looking at his watch.

"You about done?" he asked. "We're gonna be late."

"Late for what?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing.

"We're meeting Carly, Brad, and Gibby at Quisp." Freddie responded. I grinned.

"Sweet! Yeah, I'm done!" I said, pulling my napkin out of my lap and throwing it on the table. I was more than ready to grind up against Freddie in a hot sweaty club...and show off my rock. "Hey," I said. "You think maybe Brad and Carly..."

"Oh yeah," Freddie said with a nod. "It's pretty obvious."

It WAS obvious, but I was feeling a little guilty about not having the final word. I had been neglecting my friendship with Carly to spend all my time with Freddie. Tomorrow, I promised myself, tomorrow I'd hang out with Carly.

"Well, I'd hate to miss the fireworks, so let's get going," I mused, standing up and grabbing Freddie's arm, barely giving him time to throw a few twenties on the table before dragging him out of the restaurant.

~*Freddie*~

Carly, Brad, and Gibby were already inside Quisp when Sam and I got there, and Sam quickly dragged me over to where Brad and Carly were sitting.

"Hey guys!" Carly waved at us, only to be practically tackled by Sam. "Oh! Hi Sam!" Carly laughed and hugged her back.

"Look what Freddie gave me!" Sam said excitedly, extending her hand. "Isn't it awesome?"

"Awesome, gorgeous, amazing, incredibly sweet!" Carly gushed. "I can't believe you guys actually made it out tonight, cuz...well you know." she gave Sam a look. Sam leaned over and whispered something in Carly's ear and Carly made a disgusted but amused expression, laughing. Sam looked at me, then said something else to Carly. Carly stared at her, her jaw dropping a bit, and Sam nodded furtively. They both turned to look at me and I noticed Carly's gaze drop down to my crotch, her eyes wide.

"Alright, that's enough of that!" I said loudly, grabbing Sam's hand and pulling her to me. "Come on, sexy." I dragged her onto the dance floor and pulled her against me. "Hey, knock it off, I don't talk about your breast size."

"Yeah but anyone can see my breast size. Don't be embarrassed, I was just bragging a little bit," she teased, her hand trailing down to cup the "topic of conversation" and give it a firm squeeze. I jumped a little, jerking her hand away.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Mrs. Benson," I warned.

"Is that a challenge?" Sam countered. "Cuz I'll drop to my knees right here and..."

"Alright!" I laughed, kissing her. "You win. Just please don't talk to Carly about my dick size anymore, okay?"

"What about that thing you do with your tongue?"

"Sam!" I said, exasperated.

"Okay, fine." she responded, her arms going around my neck. "Dance with me."

"You got it, Princess," I said, my hands going to her waist and pulling her against me. My leg went between hers as she began to grind against me, and she gasped. I grinned at her as I purposefully rubbed my leg against her.

I saw her shake her head a little bit, as if trying to clear her brain. I was having an effect on my Sam, like always. She bit her lip and I watched her eyes dart to and fro. She was trying to think of something to talk about.

"I love this song," she finally said. "Your Love is My Drug."

"It's fitting," I responded before kissing her.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to find one of the Quisp employees glaring at me.

"Hey man, you can't do that in here," he said snarkily. "No underage makeout sessions."

I looked at Sam, who looked at me, and we both held up our hands, flashing the wedding rings.

"I think we're exempt," I responded rudely before dipping Sam backwards and planting a passionate kiss on her lips. I lifted her back up and turned to the employee, who simply rolled his eyes and walked away. Sam was using every bit of self control she had not to burst into laughter, her fingers digging into my arm.

"Dude, these things are awesome!" Sam said excitedly. "Do you think that'll work in school?"

"Probably not," I laughed. I looked over at Carly and Brad, who were sitting down looking awkward. "Wanna go play matchmaker?"

Sam followed the direction of my gaze, then looked back at me. "Are you kidding? Let's go!" She bounded over to the pair, sitting down between them and leaning over to say something in Brad's ear. He backed away from her a little bit, giving her an incredulous look. She put her hands on her hips and nodded. I watched him get up and say something to Carly, who looked at Sam suspiciously before standing up and following Brad to the dance floor. They walked past me, Brad giving me a nod and Carly mouthing "Oh my god!" at me before the two began to dance. I walked over to my wife and sat down next to her.

"What the hell did you do?" I asked her.

Sam put her head on my shoulder. "I told Brad he was being a nub and if he didn't ask Carly to dance I would pants him." she said sweetly. "What, was that not the right way to do it?"

I shrugged, smirking. "Probably not, but I guess it worked." I put my arm around her. "We should do this more often."

"Definitely," she responded. "Hey where's Gibby? I thought he was coming too."

I quickly scanned the club and was able to locate Gibby talking to a few girls. "There he is. Man, how does he do that? Ow!" I hollered, grabbing my ribcage. "That hurt! I was just saying!"

"And I was just reminding you of what you already have," Sam said with a proud smile.

"How could I forget?" I grumbled. We turned to look back at Gibby. I watched him look over at Carly and nod at her approvingly, pointing at her in a sort of "You The Man!" fashion, only to have Carly jerk her head away so she wasn't looking at him. Huh. Wonder what that was about.

"Oh my gosh! It's Sam and Freddie from iCarly!" two girls had stopped in front of us. I nodded politely.

"Hey," I said. I elbowed Sam, who let out a short yelp. I noticed her eyeballing them, and when she thought I wasn't looking her eyes darted to my face to gauge my reaction. Hmm, Sam, jealous? I couldn't help but be pleased by that realization.

"Sup," she finally said.

"Oh my gosh, we love your webshow!" the blonde in the pink dress said.

"Yeah, we never miss it!" the other blonde, in a black dress added. Sam managed a small smile.

"Cool, thanks," she said.

"Are you guys like...really married?" Pink Dress asked. Sam's eyes skidded over to me, and she grabbed my hand, displaying my wedding band, holding up her other hand to show off hers.

"Wow!" Black Dress grabbed Sam's hand. "That is huge!" Sam beamed.

"Isn't it?" she asked. "I love it."

"You are SO lucky," Pink Dress gushed. "My boyfriend won't even buy me a friendship bracelet!"

"Yeah, you're totally lucky, I knew you guys would make the best couple!" Black Dress added.

"Thanks," I said. "We're really happy together."

The girls kept staring downwards, but they weren't staring at me. I followed the path of their eyes to Sam's stomach.

"She's not pregnant," I said, annoyed.

"Yeah, this is Seattle, not Alabama, we don't do that shotgun wedding shit here!" Sam chimed in. The two girls looked at each other, perplexed.

"Then why'd you get married?"

"Because I love her!" I snapped. "Why'd you bleach your hair?"

The two girls' jaws dropped, clearly offended, and stormed off. Sam looked at me and nodded with approval.

"Nice burn, Freddie!" she said.

"Thanks," I said. "Just came to me."

"I see I'm rubbing off on you," she mused.

"Well..." I said, my hand moving between her legs and rubbing over her sensitive spot. "Not yet. But I'm sure you will be in a few hours."

"Cute, Benson, very cute," Sam said. She leaned over and ran her tongue down the length of my ear before capturing my earlobe between her teeth. "But two can play that game," she added huskily. I shivered and then tried to regain control of the situation.

"Oh really?" I responded. I turned to her, taking her chin in my hand and bringing my mouth over hers, the other hand creeping back between her legs. I could feel the vibration of her moaning against my mouth, but I couldn't hear it over the loud bass of the club. My tongue ran across her lip and she opened her mouth, her tongue rubbing against mine, both hands going to the back of my head. Neither one of us really cared that we were in the middle of a crowded club, and things were starting to get heated. She rose up on her knees a little bit, and my hand went to grab her ass.

"We shouldn't be doing this in front of everyone you know," she said before kissing my neck.

"I know," I managed to gasp out. We grudgingly pulled away and stared at each other for a moment.

"Bathroom?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, let's go," I said, scrambling to my feet and pulling her up by her hands.

~*Carly*~

Okay, so technically I hadn't hit on Brad yet. I was pretty sure the only reason he was dancing with me was because Sam had threatened him. I had no idea what she'd said to him, but whatever it was it had worked. It was so nice to have Sam back.

I looked up at Brad, who gave me a shy smile. I returned it as I took stock of him. He was absolutely gorgeous, tall and thin, with that hair and that smile. He was wearing a gray thermal pushed up to just below his elbows and baggy jeans. He looked perfect, in that devil-may-care way. He was the perfect combination of nice guy and bad boy. Smart, funny, did I mention gorgeous? And compared to everyone else I hung around he was light years ahead in terms of maturity.

A slow song came on, and I looked around, nervous.

"Uh, we can go sit down if you want..." I offered.

"You complained about me not dancing back at the studio. So I'm dancing," Brad responded, his hands going to my hips. I hesitantly put my arms around his neck, the distance between us growing smaller.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," I said. Oh my gosh, Carly, breathe! Don't be such a dirk!

"Yeah, I like this place, it's pretty cool," Brad responded.

"Yeah, we don't come here a lot, but I think I'm gonna start going more often," I said lamely. What I really wanted to do was grab him by the back of the head and plant a big ol' kiss right on those sexy lips, but it wasn't really my style. I glanced over to see Gibby giving me a Look and mouthing "Do it!" I wanted to clobber him. I didn't want other people meddling in my relationships, I just wanted things to develop naturally.

We danced in silence for a few moments, me desperately trying to think of something to say and Brad just being...Brad. He was so effortlessly cool. It would be perfect if we could end up together. He was a really great guy, and I would cease to feel like the third wheel in Sam and Freddie's stunning demonstration of teenage hormones gone awry. I guess it made sense, the years of hatred and squabbling between them had been a carefully orchestrated cover-up of simply wanting to boink each other silly. Now that the facade had been lifted, the only thing they could do was...well...boink each other silly. I'd never seen anything like it. I couldn't help but be jealous, they seemed to be perfectly in synch, even though it seemed they were constantly in a battle to be the dominant one in the relationship. Whatever works for them, I guess.

The song faded off, and another came on, a more upbeat track. Brad and I pulled apart, and I looked around the club. "Where are Sam and Freddie?" I asked, looking around.

Brad shrugged. "Beats me." He didn't seem too concerned. "So, Carly, you still think you can outdance me?"

A smile spread across my face. "Any day of the week."

"Oh really? Challenge accepted, let's go!" Brad said.

I laughed and began dancing, quickly forgetting about Sam and Freddie. Sam and Freddie who?

~* Sam *~

"The line to the bathroom is insanely long," Freddie commented, his mouth inches away from my ear. He had to, we could barely hear each other over the loud thumping of the music. It was Lady Gaga's Poker Face, slightly played out, but great nonetheless. "You sure you wanna do this?"

I turned my back to him, purposely grinding my butt into his hips and feeling how hard he was. "I can see that you do. There's never a line to the men's room, right?"

"Well, no..." he trailed off.

"Then let's go," I said with a mischievous grin. I hauled him into the men's room, ignoring the looks I was getting from the random guys at the urinal, quickly shoving Freddie into a stall and locking the door behind me. In moments we were all each other, my leg wrapped around his body, his hands on my ass, grinding against each other, our mouths devouring each other. His hands trailed up to my back, lifting my shirt so he could feel my skin. I could feel the slight cold metallic feeling of his ring against my back, and I smiled against his mouth. The rings. Oh man. I'd always hated the idea of wedding rings, stating once I'd rather be branded than wear a wedding ring OR get married, but I wanted the entire world to know I belonged to Freddie. Feminism be damned.

The song switched over from Lady Gaga to S&M by Rihanna and Britney Spears. Oh, a little mood music?

I broke the kiss, pulling away from him. "Ready?" I asked, starting to unzip my jeans.

"Oh yeah..." he trailed off, frowning suddenly. "Fuck."

"What? What's wrong?" I asked.

He sighed. "I don't have a condom."

I groaned loudly. "Fuck!" We stared at each other for a moment, both of us breathing heavily. Freddie grabbed the back of my head suddenly, kissing me roughly. I didn't know if it was the pounding of the music, the being in a place where we were NOT supposed to be, we couldn't keep our hands off each other. I moaned as he held my head steady, his mouth dominating me. He spun me around so my back was against the wall, picking me up and pinning me against it with his hips as he wrapped my legs around his waist. His mouth was back on mine, his hands in my hair. I moaned as his lips trailed to my jaw, biting me roughly. Oooh, Freddie was in a very aggressive mood tonight, and I LOVED it. I swear the constant battle between us for who would be the one in control was the biggest turn on of all. My brain was starting to go foggy, and I knew eventually both of us would lose control to the point we wouldn't care whether we used protection or not.

"Freddie," I said, gasping as his mouth found my neck. "Freddie..."

"What?" he muttered against my throat.

"We don't have a condom!" I reminded him.

"I know," he said, his lips never breaking contact from my skin. "Relax, baby, I got this." I smiled. Oh, Mr. Benson you certainly did.

He broke contact from me for a split second, long enough to unbutton my jeans, his hand snaking its way inside them. My head hit the bathroom wall as my back arched. I felt the stinging pain at the back of my head, but I didn't care. I grabbed the collar of Freddie's shirt and roughly, almost violently jerked him toward me, his mouth crashing on top of mine. My hand went to the back of his neck, gripping it, my nails digging in slightly. He groaned, thrusting against my leg as he continued to rub me. My hips seemed to move on their own, practically humping his hand. He broke the kiss to take my earlobe between his teeth.

"Well," he growled into my ear. "Guess you're rubbing off on me now. Bad girl." He quickened the pace on his fingers, allowing one to slip inside me. I moaned as he brought me closer to the edge.

If someone would have told me three months ago I'd be married to Freddie Benson and he'd be rubbing me off in the men's room of Quisp I would have laughed in their face. Or just punched them. But here I was, loving every second of it. Freddie jerked the v-neck of my shirt down, his fingers catching the edge of my bra and pulling that down too. His mouth covered my breast, and I groaned, bucking my hips.

"Getting close, Sammy?" he teased, lifting his mouth from me long enough to chide me. "You have no self control, you know."

"Bastard," I hissed, my hips jerking against my will. He had me exactly where he wanted me, and he knew it. My feet weren't even touching the ground. I felt his teeth come down on my nipple for just a second, long enough for me to gasp in slight pain.

"That wasn't very nice you know," he said. "If you keep being mean to me, I'll stop."

"No," I gasped. "Please don't stop."

He chuckled against my skin. "I like it when you ask nicely."

I was beyond snappy comebacks, my head was in "the zone" when the only thing I could focus on was how good Freddie was making me feel. My head was spinning, my body was shaking, perspiring, occasionally jerking. I could feel my thighs beginning to tremble and I knew I was done for.

"Freddie..." I gasped. "Freddie...oh god...I'm...Freddieeeeee..." my moans were muffled by his mouth pressing against mine as I exploded. His free hand went around my shoulders, holding me against him as I shuddered against him. It felt like fireworks. Finally the sensations subsided and I rested my head against the wall, completely spent. Freddie pulled his hand away and kissed me softly, sweetly, rearranging my clothes as I struggled to regain my composure. Finally I opened my eyes, dazed, and looked up at him.

"Better?" he asked, kissing my forehead. I nodded, smiling.

"That was so fucking hot," I said, pulling his mouth to mine to brush my lips across his softly. I started to deepen the kiss, but he pulled away, shaking his head.

"We gotta go back out there," he replied, still giving me looks like he was undressing me with his eyes. Not that I minded.

"But..." I trailed off, and looked to his crotch. "Aren't they getting blue?"

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "I'll be fine for a few more hours. Besides," he growled, pulling me against him. "Just think about what I'm going to do to you when we get home." I felt my stomach flip-flop. Freddie was really worked up and hadn't gotten it out of his system yet. Plus he had a tendency to recover quickly, and his stamina...well...he was a fast learner. I was done for.

"Oh, god..." I trailed off, shaking my head to get the dirty thoughts out. Freddie unlatched the door and led me out of the bathroom. I ignored the high five some random dude gave him as we walked out.

As luck would have it, we ran right into Brad.

"Hey, I was looking for you guys, what's..." he trailed off as he looked in the direction we had came from, the men's room, and held his hands up. "Never mind."

I looked at Freddie. "I'm gonna go find Carly." He nodded, and I kissed him quickly before walking away. Before I got out of ear's reach though, I heard Brad speak.

"Dude, aren't you shooting blanks by now?"

~* Freddie *~

I watched Sam walk away before turning to Brad to offer a come-back from his pointed question.

"We weren't having sex," I replied. "Didn't have a condom." I watched Brad's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Then why were you guys in the men's room...together?" he responded.

I shrugged. "Sam has needs. And I'm a very dedicated husband. Always willing to help, no matter the place." I smirked, and Brad laughed.

"You're a sick man, Benson," he replied.

"Had no complaints from her," I replied. "So what's up with you and Carly?"

Brad shrugged. "I dunno. She's pretty cute."

I leaned against the wall, my arms crossed over my chest. "So are you gonna do anything about it?"

"I don't know if I should," Brad replied.

"Well, if you're waiting on Carly to act first, you'll be waiting a long time. She's a big wuss." I responded. "Ask her out or something! Do it tonight!"

"Yeah, but...wouldn't that be like...bad for the show or something?" Brad asked. I gave him a Look.

"Brad! I MARRIED the co-host for fuck's sake!" I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Ask. Out. Carly!"

Brad was silent for a moment. "Okay, I will. Thanks Freddie!"

"No problem," I responded. "I'm gonna go find Sam before she gets in a fight or something." We began walking back towards the dance floor, and Brad noticed the way I was constantly flexing my wrist and shaking out my hand.

"Dude, what's wrong with your arm?" he asked.

"Hand cramp," I replied, powerless to stop the sly smile that plastered itself across my face.

"Oh man, that's disgusting," Brad laughed.


	16. Chapter 16: Bad To Me

**A/N: It's getting harder and harder to match up Beatles' songs to chapter content. But I refuse to give up! Viva la Beatles!**

**Chapter Sixteen:  
><strong>**Bad to Me**

~*Carly*~

"Oh my god, I haven't had that much fun in months!" Sam announced as we strolled arm and arm through the Bushwell lobby.

"Oh really?" I heard Freddie announce behind us. Sam turned around to give him the hairy eyeball.

"Different kind of fun, dollface," she replied. "We gotta go again!"

"I know!" I said. "It's great things are finally getting back to normal."

"Wait, what?" Sam stopped walking and stared at me. I shrugged.

"You're right," I replied. "Normal, ew!" we both yelled, fake shivering.

"You're making too much noise!" Lewbert yelled at us. Sam quickly grabbed my pocketbook, pulling out a pack of gum and chucking it at Lewbert's head, grinning victoriously as it made contact and he let out a girly shriek.

"Okay, so, I have to go to the doctor in the morning, hang out afterwards and work on the next webcast?" Sam asked.

"Sure, but why are you going to the doctor?" I responded.

"Baby barriers," she replied with a sly grin.

"EW, Sam! That's disgusting!"

"Less disgusting than pushing a baby out of your vag, Shay," Sam shot back.

"Oh my god!" Brad yelled behind us. "I think my balls just tied themselves in a knot."

We all burst out laughing; it was the crudest thing we'd heard Brad ever say, he was usually so polite. As the elevator doors opened, we all got on, Sam standing next to Freddie and laying her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead lightly as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Tired?" he asked. She nodded. He whispered something in her ear, and she bit her bottom lip, her face reddening a little bit.

"Do you guys ever stop?" I complained, only half-serious. I was getting used to the constant grope sessions that had replaced the former all-out wars that went on between the two, but a break once in awhile would be nice. I remembered Sam mentioning to me earlier in the evening that she was getting sore.

"Carly, trust me...you wouldn't want to stop either," Freddie said, his head leaned back against the elevator wall.

"Yeah, except for Sam is my best friend...and I'm straight." I replied with a laugh.

"Oh please, Shay, you know you loooove me," Sam said, flicking her tongue back and forth at me in an exaggerated motion. I blew kisses at her and we both laughed. I stole a look at Brad, then at Freddie, who both seemed extremely interested by the conversation, and rolled my eyes. Boys are such pervs. Freddie caught my glare and cleared his throat, changing the subject.

"Yo, Brad, gym tomorrow?" he asked. Brad nodded. Oh my god. I wish I was a member of the gym! I'd kill to watch Brad work out, all shirtless and sweaty.

"Yeah, sounds good." he responded. Brad turned his attention to me. "You wanna go out to dinner tomorrow night?"

I did a double take. "Seriously?" I asked.

"Well yeah. If you want," he offered.

"Yeah I want!" I said excitedly. Whoa, girl. Reel it back in! "I mean, um, sure. Sounds great," I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Okay, cool. 7:30-ish?" he asked.

I nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Awesome," he said. The elevator dinged, arriving at floor 5, which was the floor Brad lived on. "This is me, see you guys later." He looked at me for a second, as if contemplating something, and quickly kissed me on the cheek before flashing me a smile and stepping off the elevator. As soon as the doors shut, I looked at Sam, shocked.

"Aaaah!" we both shrieked, jumping up and down. Freddie plugged his ears.

"I told you guys to warn me before you do that!" he said.

"Oh my god!" I said, still in shock. "I have a date with Brad!"

"This is so awesome!" Sam explained. "Think of the possibilities, Carls. Double dates! Your man and my man being BFF's!"

"Guys don't do BFF's, Sam," Freddie said. Sam turned around and glared at him, annoyed. I watched her reach out towards his chest but he quickly slapped her hand away.

"I'm onto that shit now!" he said. "Don't make me start doing it to you!"

"Doing what?" I asked.

"This," Sam said, pretending to reach for one side of Freddie's chest and then quickly darting to the other, pinching his nipple roughly. "Ooh, fake out!" She raised her arms in victory.

"Ow!" Freddie yelled. "Dammit!"

Sam grinned. "He loves it, he just won't admit it."

"I think I liked it better when you hit me," Freddie growled. I rolled my eyes, laughing. The elevator doors opened to our floor and we all got off, walking down the hallway. Even though Sam had just about ripped Freddie's nipple off, he put his arm around her, his hand going into her back pocket. It was sweet. Twisted, but sweet.

I stuck my key in the door. "I'll see you guys later," I called over my shoulder.

"Goodnight," they both said. I walked in my apartment and shut my door to find Spencer on the couch watching late night infomercials again.

"Hey Kiddo," he said. "How was your night?"

I plopped down next to him. "Spence, guess what?"

"What?"

"I have a date with BRAD tomorrow night!"

"Really?" Spencer asked, turning his head to look at me. "Nice! He's a pretty cool guy, not like the other dumbasses you dated."

"Spencer!" I scolded. "They weren't all...okay yeah, you're right. They were dumbasses."

"How was the club?"

"Amazing!" I said. "I had such a good time. And Sam and I are finally gonna hang out just the two of us tomorrow, things are FINALLY going good again!"

"Awesome," Spencer replied, patting my knee. "Hey, you wanna get a new juicer?"

"What's wrong with the other five juicers you bought at 3 AM?" I asked. Spencer shrugged.

"I like juicers."

I laughed. "Obviously. Do what you want, I'm going to bed. Night!"

"Night, kiddo!"

~*Freddie*~

I gave Sam just enough time to make herself a sandwich and stuff her face with it before I pounced.

Now that I had a better idea of how things really worked, I was learning how I liked to set it up. How Sam's brain worked, how she processed my different signals; which ones worked, which ones didn't, and which ones just pissed her off. I was learning how to approach her based on her moods. It was like a cat and mouse game, which I enjoyed tremendously. Sam's brain was a giant puzzle I was determined to figure out. Even though I hated to admit it, I'd always enjoyed the banter that went on between us over the years. Part of me had been concerned that jumping into domestic bliss so quickly would cause all the spark to fizzle out, but that wasn't the case. Nothing had really changed between us, we just had a different way of expressing the constant tension between us. We still bantered. We still talked shit. The difference was I didn't have to stomp off in an angry flurry anymore, I could get my revenge by driving her up the wall in bed, bringing her to the edge and keeping her there until she conceded to whatever we happened to be bickering about at the time. It was one area I DID have control over Sam, and I absolutely loved it. I could work the girl into such a frenzy she'd agree to virtually anything.

Not to say she couldn't do the same thing to me. She had a way with her mouth that could turn me into her slave with one flick of her tongue. It was a maddening, intoxicating game we played that I never wanted to stop.

"Aren't you sleepy?" she asked me as I started kissing her neck as she was getting ready for bed.

"Uh, no," I replied, my hands grabbing her hips to grind her ass into my crotch. "Remember what I told you?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

I pulled her against me harder so she could feel exactly how riled up I was.

"You got yours," I murmured into her ear before catching it with my teeth. "My turn." I turned her around to face me, and we locked eyes for a long moment, trying to anticipate the other's next move.

Sam struck first, shoving me so I fell backwards onto the bed. She straddled me and bent down so her face was inches from mine. "You got it, baby," she responded sweetly, but she had a look on her face that wasn't sweet by any means. I swallowed nervously. Maybe I shouldn't have gone so far in the club, this girl was going to kill me. Her hands went to my belt, jerking the buckle open so hard my hips lifted off the bed, and then popping the button and finally pulling at the zipper. Her hand went inside my jeans, in my boxers, exactly as I had done to her at the club, and she squeezed my member roughly, almost too roughly.

"Jesus, Sam..." I hissed.

"Shirt off, Benson," she growled. "You know you can't keep that shit on around me. If it were up to me you'd be naked all the time."

I sat up a little and pulled my shirt off, throwing it across the room, only to be pushed down on my back by Sam, who quickly covered my lips with hers, kissing me roughly. My hands went to grab her ass and I moved her to grind against me. She moaned against my mouth.

"Don't think for one second you're turning the tables this time," she said, pulling off her own shirt and unhooking her bra. I was so distracted by the sight of her bare chest I didn't realize exactly what she was doing with her bra, until I noticed my arms were stretched above my head...and I couldn't move them. I leaned my head back to discover she had tied my wrists to the headboard, using her bra. I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. I was fucked.

"Well played, Mrs. Benson," I said. One eyebrow went up as a smirk spread across her face.

"Why thank you," she responded, getting off me to pull my jeans and boxers completely off my body. I watched her eyes roam over my body, licking her lips. I'm sure if the situation was reversed, if Sam was the one tied to the bed completely stretched out and naked like I was, I'd be doing the same thing she was. I was feeling a little over-exposed, but honestly it made it even hotter.

"God damn," she said under her breath. "You are too fucking sexy, you know that?" It was a rhetorical question, it didn't matter what I would say back, she'd make me pay for anything that came out of my mouth. She crawled onto the bed next to me, lightly running her fingertips over my chest. She leaned over and kissed me softly. Just a little reminder that we both loved the hell out of each other, and whatever happened, happened.

"Love you baby," she said, kissing me again.

"Love you too," I responded. I pulled at the makeshift restraint to test the strength of it. It gave a little bit, but that made it even worse. It would be much harder to break.

"Stop trying to escape," she chided me. She pulled the pajama bottoms she was wearing off her legs before straddling me, in nothing but a pair of pink boyshorts, grinding against me. I moaned, struggling to be quiet. She gave me a mischievous grin before sliding down my body and taking me into her mouth. My head pressed into the pillow as my eyes rolled back into my head.

"Fuck..." I moaned. That was the first time she had ever tried to deepthroat me, and man, she was a natural at it. She held my hips still as her head bobbed up and down. It was impossible to be quiet, the fact that I knew there wasn't anything I could do to stop her from doing whatever she wanted to me had me even more riled up. She pulled away to lick and bite at my pelvic muscles and abs. I groaned. She had brought me to the edge and just left me there.

"God, Sam, you're killing me," I said, pulling at the restraints harder. I watched her lift her head sharply, her hands going to my wrists and pinning them down. If I got free, all hell would break loose for her, and she knew that. She'd have to wear me out first and THEN let me go, otherwise she'd be subject to the same sweet torment.

"Not so fast, Benson," she said. I raised my head to lick across her breasts. They were right in my face, fair game. She shuddered, one hand going to the back of my head, her tight little butt grinding against my raging hard-on.

"Let me go," I pleaded against her skin before licking over a hard nipple and sucking it. She moaned slightly, but shook her head.

"I'm not done with you," she said, pulling away. Damn! I almost had her! She moved off of me long enough to slide off her underwear and grab a condom.

"I can't wait to get rid of these stupid things," she growled, putting the package between her teeth and ripping it open, spitting out the piece of foil that had come loose.

"Yeah, no shit," I responded. She put the condom on me and without warning mounted me, beginning to move up and down so fast I didn't have time to regain my control. "Fuck...Sammmmm..." I moaned.

"Feel good?" she asked, leaning forward to lick and suck on my neck. I groaned.

"Let me go," I said, lifting my hips off the bed to thrust deeper into her. She gasped.

"No way," she replied, slamming down on me. Oh, god!

"Sam, Jesus Christ..." I gasped as she worked her hips in a figure eight motion. "You're killing me,"

"It's a great way to go, isn't it?" she taunted me before bending down to take my nipple between her teeth. I gritted my teeth, stifling a moan.

"You are such a little bitch," I growled.

Slap! My head rolled to the side from the impact of her slapping me across the face, feeling the stinging in my cheek. I blinked a few times before she grabbed my chin roughly and jerked it up to force me to make eye contact.

"Don't ever call me that," she warned me, leaning forward to kiss the spot on my cheek she had just slapped before moving to my earlobe, biting it roughly. I hissed in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

"Sorry..." I responded, trying to maintain my composure. I felt really bad about hurting her, plus I was a little bit caught off-guard by the fact that her slapping me across the face had made my dick twitch. I'd have to keep that little tid-bit to myself, this wasn't a route I was prepared to go down, we liked to push limits and get a little rough, sure, but not humiliate and degrade each other. I was brought out of my thoughts by Sam kissing me sweetly, rubbing her body against me and slowing her pace. Each of us had crossed a line, and both of us knew it.

"You want me to let you go?" she asked before kissing me again. I nodded.

"You're not gonna turn the tables?" she pulled away to look me in the eyes.

"Not tonight, baby," I replied. She stared at me for a moment, then without warning pulled off me slightly and slammed down hard on me and purposely clenching her muscles around me, making me throw my head back and moan. A final kiss on the side of my neck and she reached to untie the bra, freeing my hands. Instantly I flipped her over, still buried deep inside her. She gasped as she suddenly felt me thrust deeper inside her. I hooked one arm under her to wrap around her shoulders, the other hand tangling in her beautiful hair, bringing my mouth over hers and thrusting in and out of her slowly. Her legs went around my waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I angled my hips to rub against all of her sensitive spots, and she moaned softly against my lips.

"God, I fucking love you," I murmured before planting soft kisses all over her neck.

"I love you," she gasped as I pulled out and thrust deep inside her. "Ahhhh...Freddieeee..."

"Come on, baby," I encouraged her, lowered my head to lick and suck at her sweet breasts. I could feel her thighs begin to shake, signaling she was Very Close.

"Oh, god, yes...yes...Freddie...oh..." Her back arched and she threw her head back as she began to lose control of her hips, grinding against me frantically. I reached down between us to rub at her sweet spot, and her resolve broke and she lost it, quaking against me, spasming.

"Mmmm, you're so sexy," I whispered, kissing her as she continued to shudder. She couldn't respond; she was completely lost in the sensations, and I loved watching her let go. I loved being the only one that could make her feel that way. She buried her face in my shoulder, gripping at my shoulders. "You gonna go again?" I murmured against her ear, my tongue reaching out to flick at her earlobe. Another carefully aligned thrust, and I fell her walls shudder around me again.

"Oh!" she moaned, her thighs clenching around me. "Oh, god..."

Her explosion triggered mine, and suddenly I lost control too, my face pressed against her neck as I felt myself quake against her. "God, Sam...shit!" I hissed as my hips jerked uncontrollably. My muscles gave out and I collapsed on top of her for a moment before rolling onto my side, still buried inside her. She still had her arms wrapped around me tightly, shaking. I kissed her shoulder, her neck, her cheek, and then finally her lips. I tried to break the kiss, but her hand went to the back of my head, not applying any force, just letting me know she wasn't ready for me to stop kissing her yet. I happily obliged, my hand running up and down her side, enjoying the way it made her shiver. We finally separated and I pulled away long enough to throw the condom in the trash can we kept by the bed, then laid back down next to her, pulling her into my arms. We were silent. It wasn't an awkward silence, words just weren't necessary at the moment. She traced lazy circles on my chest with her fingers as we laid there. Finally I spoke.

"Baby?" I said.

"Hmm?"

"Sorry," I said.

"For what?"

"I shouldn't have called you that."

She shrugged. "I called you a bastard earlier tonight."

"Yeah, you did," I commented. "I didn't wanna bring it up there, but...yeah, makes me feel shitty." We were both silent.

"I'm sorry. We won't do that again," she said. I nodded.

"Okay, that works." I paused. "Up until that though...the bra thing."

"Yeah?" she lifted her head to look at me, and I grinned at her.

"That was hot. I'm so getting you back later," I replied. She smirked at me.

"Bring it on, Benson," she taunted, before kissing me. I reached over and turned the lamp off, enveloping the room in darkness. I felt her lift her head up to brush her lips across mine. "Night, baby."

"Night." I responded. "Love you."

"Love you," she replied. She kissed my chest. "Always."


	17. Chapter 17: Ain't She Sweet

**Chapter Seventeen:  
><strong>**Ain't She Sweet**

~* Carly *~

"I don't know if we should do this," I commented as I tilted my head, my brow furrowing. My hand went to my chin, rubbing it thoughtfully.

"I think we should," Sam replied. "It'd be fun."

"Yeah, but..." my nose wrinkled. "Is it strong enough?"

"I think so. Come on, Carly, we could have so much fun with this! I have a giftcard, it won't cost us a dime!" Sam grabbed my arm, whining.

"Yeah, but...we can't put it in you and Freddie's apartment, his mom would have a heart attack." I argued back.

"So we'll put it in yours."

"But Spencer will freak out."

"It'll be fun! You'll love it!" Sam said. She moved closer to me. "BRAD will love it," she whispered in my ear in an exaggerated over-sexed voice. I sighed, finally caving.

"Fine!" I said, "But you carry it, it looks heavy!"

"Whooooo!" Sam exclaimed, doing a little dance. "This is gonna be awesome!"

Sam and I were currently at the mall in what I liked to refer as the "naughty shop". After she had gotten done at the doctor's office with Freddie's mom, she was banging on my door at 9:30 AM, which was completely out of character for her, and declared a girl's shopping trip. I had stopped being jealous and freaked out when I began to realize that Sam marrying Freddie and actually being around a decent mother-figure was probably the best thing for her. She was happy, care-free, and was starting to let go of her anger issues. I hadn't seen her hit anyone in days.

"I still think Spencer's gonna be pissed about us getting a stripper pole." I commented. "Pink or purple?"

"Hmmm," Sam rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "What do you think?"

"Well...purple? It would probably fit the décor better, right?"

"I guess. I mean it's collapsible. If you don't want it up, you can take it down," Sam replied. "Oh god!" She grabbed my forearm. "We can have a housedancer for iCarly! Like they do on those sketch comedy shows from the 90's!"

"Sam, we can't have strippers on iCarly, kids watch this!" I scolded her. She shook her head at me, like she could tell I wasn't following her line of thought.

"Okay, I agree, no strippers...but we already have a Gibby!" she replied.

I stared at her for a moment, before grabbing her head and planting a kiss with an exaggerated sucking sound against her forehead. "I love your twisted brain so much!" She grinned, raising her eyebrows at me. I pointed at her and wagged my finger. "But he's not wearing a thong!"

"God no, my upchuck reflex can't handle that." she responded. "Should we get two poles?"

"Hmmm. Well, we wouldn't have to take turns, would we?" I said. "Okay, yeah, let's get two. Pink and purple."

"Yay! Okay, Shay, we gotta hit the shoe store, you need a pair of "Fuck Me" pumps for your date with Brad tonight," Sam said.

"Sam! I don't want him to fuck me," I argued. She gave me a Look. "Okay fine, I don't want him to fuck me YET! Better?"

"Yep," she responded. "Just keeping you honest, Carly."

She and I each grabbed one of the poles off the display and stood in the checkout line. "So..." I trailed off.

"What?" Sam asked, not really paying attention as she flipped through her phone.

"What's it like?" I asked.

"What's what like?" she responded absent-mindedly.

"You know...sex. What's it like?"

Sam looked up from her phone, and a slow smile spread across her face. "The best thing ever! I mean, it's hard to describe, but...oh my god." Her eyes kind of drifted to the side, like she was lost in thought.

"Thinking about Freddie?" I asked.

"Uh-huh," she said, grinning. "He told me to not talk about our sex life with you, but oh my god, Carly...he does this thing with his tongue...good god."

My eyebrows furrowed, a confused look on my face. "What does he do exactly?"

"It's hard to explain, but...it's like he can flick it and twist it at the same time...and then he can make it lay flat or he can...okay...we gotta get this shopping trip over and done with," she said, her breathing a little ragged.

"Okay, stop thinking about it before you run over to the gym and molest him, Sam!" I laughed, shaking her shoulders. "Let's talk about my date instead."

"K. So are you gonna wear your hair straight or curly?" she asked.

"I don't know..." I trailed off. "What do you think?"

"Straighten it. Brad seems like the straight type."

"Uh, let's hope so!" I laughed. Sam poked me.

"You know what I mean. But test the theory tonight. In his backseat," Sam said mischievously. I laughed.

"Come on perv, get those gift cards out, we're up." I said.

~*Freddie*~

"Okay, I know you can hit harder than that, man. Pretend you're in a fight or something!" I yelled at Brad.

I was at the gym with Brad and Gibby, and Brad and I were in the ring, boxing gloves strapped on. It was pretty obvious that Brad didn't work out much, but he had a sudden desire out of nowhere to do so over the past week or so. I suspected Carly had something to do with it. But he wasn't going to get very far if he couldn't pull a harder punch than he was giving me at the moment.

"But I'm not pissed off..." Brad trailed off.

"Your mom's a slut!" Gibby yelled from the edge of the ring. I watched in horror as Brad whirled around, giving Gibby an evil look, and began advancing towards him.

"No no no no!" I yelled, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him back. "Hit me, not him...Gibby! Shut the fuck up!"

Gibby held his hands up. "I'm just trying to help!"

"Go do some pushups!" I hollered. "You want Tasha back you gotta beef up!"

"Okay..." Gibby hopped down from the ring onto the ground and began awkwardly trying to do push-ups. Brad and I watched him struggle for almost forty five seconds, grunting.

"Uhhh...grrr...uhh...oof...ONE!" He hollered, before collapsing to the ground. I rolled my eyes.

"Great job, keep going," I turned back to Brad. "Okay, go. Hit me."

Brad pulled a punch that was a little bit harder than before in my shoulder, but it barely registered, not even moving me.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little bit, but roll your shoulder back more when you pull back," I suggested. "Again." He hit me. "Better."

We started sparring, each of us able to get in a few blows and duck a few, but I managed to hit Brad a few more times than he hit me. As we traded jabs back and forth, I casually brought up the topic of Carly.

"So, big date tonight," I commented, dodging a left hook.

"Yep," he responded, making a soft 'oof' sound when I hit him in the chest. "Hope it goes well."

"I think it will, I think Carly likes you a lot," I responded.

"I hope so, man. Hey what happened to your face?" he asked. I sighed.

"Got a little out of line with Sam last night, she let me know it."

"Geez man, what'd you do?"

"I don't wanna get into details, but I may have called her something I shouldn't have..." I trailed off. He managed to make contact with my jaw, thank god we were wearing gloves. "Shit!" I regained my ground and landed two solid blows to his midsection. "Avoid the face, dude!"

"My bad. Did you call her a bitch or something?"

"Yeah..." I said. "I really feel like shit for doing it too, her mom used to call her that. It was like a knee-jerk reaction or something."

"Man, I called my little sister a bitch once and she kneed me in the groin. I'd say you got off lucky. Is she still pissed?"

"Nah, we dealt with it. She's out shopping with Carly right now," I responded. "We're fine."

"God forbid your dick takes a night off, huh?" he quipped. I grinned.

"Oh this guy? He's always on the job, man!" I threw another hit, making contact with his shoulder.

"Maybe I should get Sam to coach me in boxing and not you," he said, laughing.

"Whatever," I responded, throwing a 1-2 combo and catching him off-guard. He lost his footing and fell right on his ass. "You were saying?"

"Shit," he said. "What was the point of that?" He gained his feet and we began sparring again for a good fifteen minutes until we were both exhausted.

"What time is it?" I asked, looking up at the clock. "Shit, it's getting kinda late. Let's hit the showers and get back to Bushwell."

"Sure thing," Brad responded. "Gotta get me some Carly!" I planted my glove square in the middle of his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not too much Carly," I warned. "You hurt that girl either me or Sam or both of us will kick your ass. She's a good girl."

"Relax, dude!" he said, his arms going up. "Carly's actually girlfriend material. If I wanted to just bang somebody I'd go after that brunette chick that lives in our building. The stupid one."

I laughed. "I see you met Patrice."

"Yeah, I'm surprised that chick learned how to breathe," Brad commented. "Let's go."

We hopped down from the ring, stepping directly over Gibby who was still laying on the floor. "Yo, Gibs, get up!" I yelled. "Work-out's over!"

"Help...me..." he groaned.

~* Sam *~

"Are you sure it's set up correctly?" Carly asked me as she reached out to shake the pole slightly, testing it.

I put the wrench down on the steps and grabbed the pole with both hands, pushing off and spinning around it. "Yep, it's good. Try it! It's fun!"

Carly and I had just finished setting up one of the poles, keeping the other one in the box until we were sure it was a good investment and not just a packaged piece of crap. I was absolutely giddy, this was going to be a blast!

Carly nervously grabbed the pole in the same manner as I had. "Are you sure?"

"Carly!" I yelled. "Stop being a puss!"

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" she grumbled, finally gathering the guts to spin around. "Weeeee..." she cried out happily as she went around the pole once. Her feet hit the ground and she let go, staring at it for a moment. "I love this thing!"

"Okay, let me try something!" I said, shoving her out of the way. I grabbed on and then hooked my knee around the pole and spun again. "AAAH!"

"This is the best free three hundred bucks ever spent!" Carly said. "Aren't you glad I blurted out your secret marriage on the internet now?"

I laughed. "Whatever, Shay. Watch this!" I gripped the pole tightly, hopping up to wrap my thighs around the pole. When I was sure I wouldn't slip, I released my hands, flipping upside down. "Ta-Da! Look at this shit! If I was sluttier I'd do this professionally!"

Carly bent down, twisting her neck so she was upside down. "But I thought you were Freddie's slut." She laughed as she moved away when I tried to swipe at her, still hanging upside down.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing Brad and Freddie both carrying boxes full of cables and electronic parts. "Hey guys!" Carly said with a big grin.

Freddie took stock of me hanging upside down from a pole, probably something out of one of his pervy fantasies, and his jaw dropped, along with the box he was carrying, clattering to the ground with a loud thump.

"Hey baby," I said to Freddie, giving him a sexy upside down smile, my arms reaching behind my head to grab onto the pole.

"Like our new toys?" Carly asked, laughing as she watched me struggle to flip myself back up. "We found them at the naughty shop in the mall."

Brad cleared his throat. "It's uh...um..." he stammered.

I finally managed to get upright and put my feet on the ground before spinning around the pole lazily. "How was the gym?" I asked nonchalantly, completely aware of the way Freddie was looking at me.

He didn't answer, just turned to look at Brad and Carly, then back at me, then back at them before looking at his watch. "Hey...shouldn't you guys be going out for your date?" he said in a very upbeat voice, turning to look at Carly and give her a Look.

"But...Freddie, it's only 3 in the afternoon..." she said, not getting it.

"Wow, you'd better get going then! You don't want to wait to get a table!" he said, spinning Carly around first, then Brad and pushing them both towards the door. "You kids have fun!"

"But Freddie..." Brad started.

"No buts, stay out of trouble guys!" he got them out the door and slammed it shut, locking it. Carly banged on the glass, looking angry. I could see Freddie shake his head and point towards the stairwell, before turning to me.

"Good workout?" I asked with an innocent smile.

"Hop on that thing again," he said, his face completely serious.

"What, this?" I asked as I grabbed the pole with one hand and spun around, the other hand coming up to toss my hair around seductively.

"Yeah." he responded, grabbing a chair and pulling it closer to me before sitting down.

"Aw, Freddie likes my new plaything," I laughed.

"You bet your sweet little ass I do," he replied. "Can you flip upside down again?"

I shrugged. "I can try." I hopped on it, locking my thighs around it as I had done before and leaning back, staring at him from upside down. I had another thought, and pulled the tank top I was wearing off, letting it drop to the floor before doing the same with my bra.

"Jesus Christ," he said, shifting in his chair. I noticed a nice little tent forming in his jeans. I licked my lips provocatively, my hands moving over my chest, pushing my breasts together.

"Like what you see, baby?" I asked, trying to ignore the feeling of blood rushing to my head.

"Fuck yeah," he responded gruffly. I pulled myself back up with my hands and let my feet drop to the ground.

"Should I lose these too?" I asked, gesturing to my shorts. Freddie nodded. It seemed like he couldn't find his voice. I smiled at him, biting my bottom lip, before wiggling out of my shorts and throwing them on top of his head. He yanked them off and smiled that adorable crooked smile of his. I turned around, grabbing the pole and shaking my ass at him seductively, clothed in only a tiny thong, smiling as I heard him groan. I spun around the pole again. I let my dance training come in handy as I grabbed the pole from behind and lifted myself off the ground, my legs spreading into a full straddle split.

"Oh my god," he said. "You are so fucking sexy, do you know that?"

My legs came back down and I dropped my to knees and began to crawl towards him. I swear I thought his jaw would hit the ground. My hands grabbed his knees as I pulled myself up and straddled his lap, kissing him. I moved to his ear, licking, sucking, nibbling. His hands went to my hips, grinding me onto his lap so I could feel how hard he was.

"You're a natural at that...kind of scares me," he murmured as I began kissing his neck and continued to grind on him, enjoying the way he moaned.

"You know you're the only guy who'll ever see me like this," I reassured him. "The only person who brings this out of me is you." I resumed kissing his neck as I unbuttoned his shirt.

"God, Sam...I don't have a condom," he groaned helplessly.

"That's okay," I replied, unbuttoning the last button and spreading his shirt open so I could run my hands across his chest, pressing my breasts against him, enjoying the feel of our bare skin touching.

"There's no way..." he gasped as I wiggled my butt on his erection. "...that...god...the pills...uhhh...have kicked in."

"I know," I replied, grabbing the back of his head and kissing him, continuing to grind. I pulled his head down to my chest, moaning as his hands went to my back and he began licking and sucking at my breasts. I got off him, standing up. He looked disappointed, until I dropped back down my knees and unbuckled his belt, followed by his button. Freddie leaned back further in the chair, his head hanging back as I let one hand creep up his stomach and over his chest. I bent down, grabbing his zipper with my teeth and pulling it down.

"Shit," he swore. "You're so fucking sexy, baby..."

"Glad you think so," I giggled, before reaching inside his boxers to pull his dick out. I licked slowly from the base to the tip, causing him to gasp. "Feel good?"

"God, yes..." his hands moved to my head, tangling through my hair. I licked in the opposite direction, from tip to base. My hands continued to travel all over his upper body as I took my time tormenting him, lightly pinching one of his nipples, not to irritate like I did when he was pissing me off, but to drive him crazy.

"Shit, Sam...stop teasing..." he said, moaning. "Please..."

"Is this better?" I asked before hooking my fingers in his belt loops and taking all of him into my mouth.

"Fuck!" he yelled, jerking in surprise. "God...Sammy..."

I didn't let up, just continued bobbing my head up and down as he groaned and squirmed. One hand wrapped around the base of his erection and I pumped it up and down slowly in unison with my mouth. One of his hands stayed in my hair, the other gripped the side of the chair so hard his knuckles turned white. "Oh god...this feels so good...I love your mouth...shit...SHIT!" he yelled as I suddenly deepthroated, gagging a bit. "Sam, slow down...I'm gonna...Sam..." he warned.

I didn't let up, or slow down one bit. I wanted to make him explode, to remind him that I could have just as much control over him as he could over me. My hand gripped him a little bit harder and I picked up speed.

"Sam...oh god...slow down...I don't want to...shit...Sam..." Freddie panted, his hips thrusting as he began to shake. "Fuck, Sam...SAM!" he yelled as he finally lost control and went over the edge.

Okay, not the best tasting thing ever. But I didn't care. I was going to make him ride the entire thing out with no relief. He spasmed uncontrollably, moaning, grabbing my hair so hard it hurt.

"Sam...Sam...stop!" he said, half begging as he jerked from the oversensitivity. I finally let him go as I sat back and wiped my mouth.

"Fuck, Sam..." he said, trying to catch his breath.

"You like that, baby?" I asked as I kissed his neck.

"Just wait...til we get home..." he panted. "You're so fucked."

I grinned. "I hope so." He regained his composure and stood up. I wrapped my arms around him, turning my head. "I wouldn't kiss me right now if I were you."

"I'm sure we can find you a bottle of mouthwash," he laughed, kissing me on the top of my head. "Christ! That was hot as hell."

I looked up at him, glaring. "Just so you know, that's not what goes on in real strip clubs, so don't get any ideas, nub."

He laughed, reaching down to give my ass a quick squeeze. "You're all I can handle, baby. Get dressed. I'm gonna switch out some cables and then we'll go get some food, okay?"

"Sounds good," I replied, busying myself with buttoning up his shirt.

"Love you," he said. I smiled at him.

"Love you more."

~*Carly*~

"Oh my god," I whined, flopping down on my living room couch with my arms crossed. "I swear, if they get fluids all over my studio..."

"You guys bought a pole and Sam was spinning around it like a porn star, what did you think was going to happen?" Brad laughed as he plopped down next to me. "Those two can't keep their hands off each other."

"Yeah, I know," I replied. "I wonder if they'll ever get sick of it..."

Brad snorted. "Kind of a difficult thing to get sick of." When my eyes lifted to him in surprise, he changed the subject. "So...do you like sushi?"

"Are you a virgin?" I blurted out.

"Uh...that's kind of a personal question, Carly," he laughed.

"What? I just wanna know," I said, trying to sound lighthearted and nonchalant.

"Well...no," he finally said. "I'm not."

"Oh..." I trailed off. "So me and Gibby are the only virgins left in the whole group..." I said dejectedly.

Brad cleared his throat. "Uh...actually, we were talking at the gym today, and..."

"GIBBY'S HAD SEX?" I cried, horrified. "WHO WOULD HAVE SEX WITH GIBBY?"

"Apparently that Tasha chick..." he said. "I don't get it either."

"Oh my god..." I moaned. I was the only virgin left in our group of friends! Oh my god! Even GIBBY wasn't a virgin!

Brad laughed. "Come on, Carly, it's not that bad..."

"Says the non-virgin," I glared at him, before snapping at him, "Don't take that as offer, boy!"

He held up his hands defensively. "I'm not!"

"Good," I replied.

"So you still wanna go out with me, knowing I've been defiled and all that?" he teased, nudging me. I looked out the corner of my eyes at him, unable to keep from smiling.

"Okay, fine, I guess I will. You know, as a favor," I teased.

"How can I ever repay you?" he responded flirtily.

"I'm sure I'll think of something," I laughed. "Well..." I trailed off awkwardly. "I should probably get ready if you want to still go out..."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be back in a few hours." He stood up. "I'll see you in a few."

"K," I responded, watching him walk to door. Oh my god, Carly, stop staring at his butt!

"Bye." He flashed me a smile, and with that, he closed the door behind him. I fell back on the couch, sighing.

Before I could gather my thoughts, Sam and Freddie came bounding down the stairs.

"Are you guys done dirtying up my studio?" I asked, not bothering to get up.

"We didn't dirty up anything," Freddie shot back. "Well, we're gonna grab some food, good luck on your date with Brad tonight," he said, leaning over the couch to pat me on my head.

"Tell me everything as soon as you get back," Sam said, shaking my arm.

"Okay," I said with a smile.

"You nervous?" Freddie asked me.

"A little," I replied. Sam gave me an encouraging smile.

"Don't be, Carls! You'll be fine! Brad likes you! And you're perfectly matched...especially in height. Just act natural, okay?"

I sighed. "I'll do my best, Sam."

"Okay, text me when you get back!"

They started to head for the door, then Sam turned around with a strange look on her face.

"You got any gum, Carly?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked. Sam said nothing, just looked at the floor.

"Oh, EW!" I groaned, turning over to bury my face in the couch. "I'm just going to stop asking questions forever!"

"Probably a good idea," Freddie commented. "Later!" With that, they were both gone.

I turned back over, looking up at the ceiling. Okay, Carly. You're the only virgin left. And you're going out with Brad. Who is NOT a virgin. Meaning he's going to expect certain things I wasn't sure if I was willing to give up quite yet. Great, now I was even more nervous than before...

I looked at my watch. 4:30. Time to shower. I sat up, looking at the stairs, and a grin spread across my face.

First a little time on the pole, I was gonna kick Sam's ass in pole-dancing, or at least try to. I got up and began taking the stairs two at a time.


	18. Chapter 18: Honey Don't

**A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews, keep 'em coming guys! =D**

**Chapter Eighteen:**  
><strong>Honey Don't<strong>

~* Sam *~

Freddie and I got back from the Groovie Smoothie and decided to just hang out at the apartment for the night. Carly would be out with Brad for most of the night and we weren't really in the mood to go out anyway. He and I had a nice night of movies on the couch planned. Well, I was sitting on the couch watching movies and Freddie was playing with his laptop.

"Hey!" he said brightly. "Did you know Technology World has 8 gig memory cards for only ten bucks right now?"

"The question is, do I care about memory cards?" I replied, flicking his earlobe with my fingers.

"I bet you'd care if they were bacon flavored," Freddie grunted.

"Whatever," I stood up. "You want some lemonade?"

"Yeah, sure. Be careful with that pitcher though, okay? It was my grandmother's."

"K." I walked to the fridge, pulling the antique glass pitcher out of the fridge. As luck would have it, Marissa had chosen that exact moment to walk into the kitchen and right into me, sending lemonade everywhere, all over her shirt, and causing me to lose my grip on the family heirloom. It crashed to the ground and broke into a thousand pieces. Oh, no.

"SAM!" She scolded. "That's been in our family for three generations, how could you be so clumsy?"

"I-" I stammered, looking at her and then looking at the pile of glass.

"Oh my god! I'm never going to be able to replace this!"

Freddie had stood up and was looking at us. "I told you to be careful, Sam!"

"Granma Benson isn't with us anymore!" Marissa hollered. She took a step closer toward me, and my arms went up in an X shape in front of my face, as if to block a hit.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't hit me, I'm sorry!" I said. "I'm sorry, Marissa, I didn't mean to, I..." I scrambled back and started to lose my balance, but before I could fall Marissa grabbed me by the forearm, yanking me back up.

In hindsight, I realize she was just trying to keep me from falling in broken glass. But my twisted brain didn't see it that way, and I screamed like a little girl. Like a little bitch, ugh! I jerked away from her quickly, falling on my ass and quickly scooting back on my hands and feet until I felt my back hit the wall. Shit, I was trapped, and freaking out. I kept telling myself not to panic, but as usual, I wasn't listening. My hands gripped my knees and I peered up at her fearfully.

"Sam! Honey what is wrong with you?" she cried.

Freddie had walked around the breakfast bar and into the kitchen, directly behind his mother. There was only one way out of the kitchen, and they were blocking it. Briefly I wondered if I could dive over the counter.

"Sam, calm down, it's just a pitcher," Freddie said, stepping in front of Marissa, his arm reaching out. I quickly sprang to my feet, my fists coming up in front of me. My brain wasn't even engaged, I was running off pure nerves and instinct.

I think it's called a flashback. That would be the only explanation. I was dealing with Freddie and Marissa, but all I could see was my mom and Bill. And I was cornered, like I was the night I got my head split open. I reacted like a caged animal would. I'm surprised I didn't bark or something.

"Come near me and I break your nose," I growled.

"Sam!"

"I mean it, back the fuck up!"

Freddie looked at me for a second, and for once I couldn't tell what was going on in his head. I was too wrapped up in my own panic. He jutted forward quickly, and I tried to swing. He dodged it and caught both of my wrists, slamming me into the wall and pinning them over my head, his hips going into mine to pin me so I wouldn't start kicking.

"Calm...the...fuck...down," he growled into my ear.

I tried to pull my arms down, but I couldn't. Freddie had officially become stronger than me, something I didn't like. I could hear Marissa saying something in the background, but I was in such a freaked-out state I don't think I could even process words.

"Let me go!" I screamed, squirming this way that, but Freddie only held me down more.

"Baby, relax!" he said, struggling against me trying to squirm. I burst into tears, finally getting a leg free and kicking him in the shin. It didn't make a bit of difference, and he managed to grab both of my wrists with one hand, letting the other hand pin my free leg against the wall. I was losing it, beginning to hyperventilate. I screamed again, but it wasn't even words, just a mish-mash of unintelligible sounds and shrieks. I'm sure anyone walking by our apartment at that moment would think I was being killed or something.

"I'm not gonna hurt you!" he said frantically. "Sam, baby! Relax! It's me!" I finally surrendered, my head leaning against the wall.

"Get off me," I said weakly. He finally let go, staring at me. They were both staring at me. I had completely lost it. And completely screwed up. Great job, Sam.

"I...I'm sorry," I said, my throat suddenly choking up. I shoved past both of them, jerking open the front door and tearing off down the hallway.

~*Freddie*~

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I was completely shocked by what had just transpired in the kitchen.

"Oh my god," I said, my head going into my hands. "What the hell was that?"

My mom went to the closet to grab a broom and began sweeping up glass. "Don't swear, honey."

"Mom! Did you just blank out and miss all that? What am I supposed to do? Why would she freak out like that on you, she's gone head to head with you before we got together, what changed?" I asked, still perplexed.

"I wasn't the "mother figure" in Sam's life before. She obviously can't deal with female authority figures. I think we underestimated how much all this has affected Sam," she replied calmly.

"Yeah, no shit!" I said, immediately regretting the words as soon as they left my mouth.

"Fredward!" she scolded.

"Sorry," I replied sheepishly.

"I think Sam needs to go to a counselor. She's really mixed up. That's classic post-traumatic stress." she said. "Now go find her and bring her back in here, so we can talk to her."

"I don't think she's going to want to see a counselor, mom." I replied. "Sam's really weird about that stuff."

"Well we can't have her running off screaming into the night every time there's a disagreement. Now go find her!" my mom said, giving me a gentle shove towards the door.

I sighed, exiting the apartment and walking towards the fire escape. I knew where she'd be, it didn't take a whole lot of searching. I stuck my head out the window, and sure enough there she was. "Hey," I said.

She looked up at me, wiping her face. "Hi."

I climbed out the window and sat down on the stairs next to her. "Wanna talk?" I asked.

"Not really, but you're gonna make me anyway, right?" she responded.

I put my arm around her, pulling her against me. "You know I would never hurt you in a million years."

She bit her bottom lip. "I know."

"And neither would my mom, she's never even hit me, Sam. Not even when I was a bratty little kid." I replied, my hand running up and down her arm.

"I don't know what happened, Freddie. I just...freaked out. I don't like getting cornered, and...she was really mad...and...I'm sorry," Sam said.

"It's okay." I replied, kissing her on the top of the head. "But I think you need to talk to someone about this, baby."

"Like who?" she asked, looking up at me with her big blue eyes.

"You know, like a counselor or something." I replied. She glared at me.

"I'm not crazy," she snapped.

"I know you're not! But you are hurt, really really bad. I can't fix you all by myself, Sam. Even though I try..."

She sighed, pulling away from me, her head going into her hands. "I promised myself I wouldn't keep doing this to you."

"Sam, it's not your fault! You got dealt a bad hand, that doesn't make YOU bad!" I said, lifting her chin to look at me. "I love you. I'm not giving up on you. You're not putting me through anything. I just don't like seeing you hurt!" She was silent. I kissed her softly and pulled away, our foreheads touching. "We're gonna have a lot of arguments over the years. You're stubborn, and so am I. But you can't run away or freak out every time we disagree."

"I'll try not to freak out," she responded.

"Okay, that's the best I can ask for." I replied. I stood up. "Come on, we gotta go talk to my mom."

"She's gonna yell at me," Sam said as I pulled her to her feet.

"No she's not, she's concerned about you." I responded. "Come on, baby. It looks like rain anyway."

I practically had to drag her back into the apartment, and I could tell she was dreading having to deal with my mom. I opened the door and pulled her inside.

"Got her!" I called as I shut the door behind us. My mom came out of her bedroom and walked to the bar, leaning against it.

"Sam, we gotta talk," she said. "Honey...you've gotta get some help."

"But I'm not crazy!" she pointed out as she had to me.

"Nobody said you were, sweetheart. You've got post traumatic stress. That doesn't make you crazy, it just makes you hurt."

Sam didn't say a word, just stared at the floor shamefully. My hand went to her back, rubbing it, trying to calm her down.

"Look at me, Sam." My mom ordered, a touch of firmness in her voice. Sam looked up, surprised. "No one in this home is going to hurt you, I can promise you that. No one will lay a hand on you. We don't do that, and we certainly don't put up with it from other people." She came around the bar and took Sam's hand in hers, shaking it. "You are SAFE here, do you hear me?"

"Yes," she said. She was quiet for a moment. "I'm really sorry, Marissa."

"It's okay. Believe it or not, I do actually care about you, honey." my mom said. Sam nodded.

"Okay." They were both silent for a moment. I looked at my mom, then at Sam, giving her a nudge forward, and my mom hugged her.

"You'll be fine, honey, it'll just take awhile." she said as she hugged her. Sam hugged her back, kind of awkwardly. It was obvious she wasn't used to sort of thing. They separated, and Sam looked at me.

"What now?" she asked. I shrugged, and my hands went to her shoulders, massaging them.

"You seem a little tense," I responded. "I could rub your back."

"Okay," she sighed, already losing herself in the feeling. I gave my mom a Look.

"I'll just...leave you two alone," she said with a smile before going to her bedroom and shutting the door.

Without warning, I picked Sam up and threw her over my shoulder, eliciting a squeal from her, carrying her to our room and shutting the door with my foot.

~*Carly*~

I was freaking out. Brad was late. Like fifteen minutes late. I was sitting on the couch, dressed to the nines, my knees bouncing up and down in a display of nervous energy, trying to not jump up and begin pacing.

He had changed his mind.

And now iCarly would be awkward! Or he would quit, and Freddie would be mad at me! My head went into my hands, silently having a mini-anxiety attack. Spencer plopped down next to me, shaking my shoulders.

"Carly, I'm sure he's just running late, relax!" he tried to calm me.

"He lives three floors down!" I cried. "Oh my god, I've been stood up!" I wanted to cry.

Just then came a frantic knock at the door. Spencer jumped up, rushing over to the door and looking through the peephole. "It's Brad!" he said, opening the door.

Oh, thank god. I hadn't been stood up.

Brad walked in, looking guilty. "Carly, I'm so sorry," he began. "My little brother's hamster escaped and got caught in the A/C unit, my mom wouldn't let me leave until I got it out."

"Oh!" I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "So...is the hamster okay?"

"Yeah, he's good," Brad shrugged. "So you never did answer my question about sushi. Is that cool?"

"Sure," I responded, trying to contain my excitement over not being blown off by possibly the most gorgeous guy ever. "You ready?"

"Yep." Brad held the door open.

"Don't keep her out too late, man!" Spencer called.

Brad nodded. "Sure thing, Spencer."

"Bye Spencer!" I called as Brad shut the door. I looked up at him. "Sorry, I don't know why he's suddenly being protective."

Brad laughed. "Well Freddie threatened to kick my ass or get Sam to do it if I got out of line."

My eyebrows went up. "He did? I'm gonna smack him next time I see him!"

"Come on, let's go." Brad and I walked to elevator.

~*Freddie*~

I'll be honest, I was having a little bit of trouble keeping my hands on only Sam's back and not moving to other places. But I was enjoying the little moans she was making as my hands worked over her muscles.

"You're tense again," I commented.

"Tense cuz I feel like a dumb ass," Sam grumbled, flexing her neck a little bit. My hand automatically went to her neck to rub it.

"Don't feel like that," I responded, bending down to kiss just below her ear. "My girl's not a dumb ass."

She laughed. "I can name off twenty teachers that would beg to differ."

"Well, you'll be able to surprise them all this year, huh?" I replied. "I can't believe we only have four and a half weeks left before we're seniors." I laid down next to her but continued to rub my hand up and down her back.

"I don't know if I can do it, Freddie," she said softly, turning her head to face me. I gave her an encouraging smile.

"Sure you can, baby. Just...you know...pay attention in class instead of plotting pranks. I'll help you," I offered.

"Okay, now you're just being silly. Me, give up pranks?" Sam scoffed. I laughed.

"I didn't say give UP pranks, just don't plan them while you're in class."

"Maybe," she responded. "I'm hungry."

"You want me to make you a sandwich?" I asked, starting to get up. Her hand went to my chest, pushing me back down.

"I didn't say anything about food, baby," she replied before kissing me. I smiled and began to deepen the kiss. She wrapped her arms around my neck, her tongue rubbing across my bottom lip. I grabbed her leg, pulling it over me, and began to grind against her, breaking the kiss to nibble and suck on her neck.

"No...marks..." she gasped. "Webcast...tomorrow."

"I got you, baby." My hands began pushing up her shirt, and she lifted her head so I could pull it off her, tossing it to the side before unhooking her bra. I trailed my lips down from her neck to her beautiful breasts, kissing, licking, sucking, one hand massaging, the other hand reaching down to rub in between her legs. Her head went back as she moaned, grinding her hips against my hand. I unzipped her jeans, struggling to pull them off her slender legs.

"No more skinny jeans," I grunted, nearly falling off the bed as I jerked them off her. She laughed. I moved back up her, pulling her underwear to the side before bending down to lick across her sensitive womanhood. She gasped, arching into me.

"You could take them off," she gasped as I applied more pressure.

"Nope," I murmured. "Wastes time." I hooked one arm under her, pulling her closer to mouth as I licked over all her sensitive spots. She jerked against my mouth, grabbing fistfuls of sheets and breathing heavy.

"God, Freddie...ohhh..." she moaned. I grabbed both of her legs and put them over my shoulders before sliding a finger inside of her, rubbing against her g-spot. Her hands went in my hair, gripping it tightly as she ground her hips into my face. My tongue made slow circles around her sensitive clit before flicking at it, then sucking softly at it, enjoying her pants and moans.

"You gonna come for me baby?" I said against her skin, rubbing her g-spot harder and adding another finger.

"Oh, god..." she moaned. "Fuck...Freddie...oh god..." Her hips seemed to move on their own. "Freddie...oh...Fr-FREDDIE!" She arched her back suddenly as I felt her thighs clamp around my head and her muscles clench around my fingers. God, it was so sexy watching her let go! I let her catch her breath for a moment as I pulled my clothes off quickly, grabbing a condom and putting it on. I pulled her panties down her legs before getting on top of her and pushing inside.

"FUCK!" she said, grabbing my shoulders and burying her face in my neck.

"God, you feel so good baby," I said, one hand going to the back of her head and the other grabbing her leg as I thrust in and out of her.

"Oh my god..." she moaned. A thought crossed my mind, and I grabbed both of Sam's arms, pinning them above her head. Her eyes popped open as she started to squirm. "What the hell?"

I thrust into her slowly. "You freaked out earlier when I had you like this..." She moaned, but continued to try and jerk her arms free.

"Freddie, stop..." she whined.

Bam! I angled my hips up and thrust harder. "No. I'm not letting go." I tried to steady myself, I didn't want to explode before I'd gotten my point across.

"Freddie!"

"Am I hurting you?" Another thrust. I pinned both her wrists with one hand and reached down to bring her leg against me like what had happened in the kitchen.

"Ahhh...no..." she whimpered. "But..."

"But what?" I asked, licking her neck. I moved my hips in a slow circle, feeling her arch against me. "See, now...every time you...uhhh..." I groaned, trailing off. Focus, Freddie! "Every time you think about this, you're gonna think about how good it feels..." I kissed her. "Not how scared you were."

"Oh, god...Freddie..." she bucked against me. I could tell she was trying to hold back, trying to be stubborn. Sorry baby, not tonight.

Slam! I pushed in, hard, feeling her walls clench around me. She groaned, biting my shoulder.

"Let me go..." she moaned.

"Is that what you want?" I asked, bending my head to suck at a hard nipple.

"Yes...no...god..." she moaned. "Freddie..."

"What bothers you more, Sam...the fact that you're still a little afraid, or the fact that I'm trying to break you of it?" I was having difficulty controlling myself at this point, I was struggling not to give up and just let go inside her.

"I...oh god...Freddie...I'm gonna..."

"Yeah, baby, come on. Come for me," I whispered in her ear before biting at it. She jerked against me, legs shaking. Her other leg went around my waist and I knew I almost had her.

"I am..." I breathed deeply, trying to steady myself. "Never...going to hurt you!" I let go of her arms, grabbing the back of her head and kissing her passionately. Her arms went around to my back, her nails digging into me so hard it hurt as her resolve shattered and she exploded, shuddering against me. Within seconds, I gave up, quaking as I exploded inside her. We were still for a few moments, until I rolled off her, disposing of the condom and laying back down next to her, pulling her into my arms.

"That was..." she trailed off. "What the hell was that?"

"Therapy," I mused before kissing her.

"You really like messing with my head, don't you?" she asked.

"Nah, I like fixing your head," I replied, kissing her on her forehead. "You freaked me out earlier, I don't ever want to see that happen again."

"Well, after what just happened..." she laughed. "I'll look forward to you pinning me down."


	19. Chapter 19:Sure to Fall in Love With You

**Chapter Nineteen:  
><strong>**Sure to Fall (In Love With You)**

~*Carly*~

"I'm not going to eat that," I said, wrinkling my nose at Brad. He gave me a surprised look.

"Why not? It's really good!" he assured me.

"It's an octopus arm!"

"Octopusses don't have arms, Carly!" Brad argued.

"I think you mean Octopi," I replied with a laugh. "I'll stick with the salmon and tuna, you can have the octopi arms."

"Legs!" Brad laughed.

"Arm, leg, hand, foot, I'm not eating an octopus!"

I was having an absolute blast with Brad. I had never hung out with him one on one before, but I liked it. He was charming and funny without having to resort to dirty jokes like most boys. God, he was completely different from anybody I had ever met, and my friends loved him too!

I was a little more than excited about the fact that he and Freddie were quickly becoming best friends, it seemed almost perfect. I really hoped things would progress between us. He was the perfect boyfriend material.

"What do you wanna do next?" he asked after we'd had our fill of raw fish, me of salmon and him of legs and arms and whatever else parts belonged on octopi. I shrugged.

"I dunno. I always end up going to the same places when I hang out with Sam and Freddie. Maybe something that's not the Groovie Smoothie?"

"Well, there's the pool hall," he offered. "But if you don't want to, that's fine."

My eyebrows went up. Pool, huh? That was different. "Sure. I've never played though...can you show me?"

"Sure." he replied. "Let's go."

We left the sushi restaurant and hopped into his dad's car; he had let Brad borrow it for the night, and it was an AMAZING cherry red mustang. I could totally get used to this, cruising around in a hot car with an even hotter guy.

What really surprised me about Brad was how much of a gentleman he was. I wasn't used to people opening car doors for me, especially when I was already IN the car. He would get out, rush around to the other side, open the door, and offer me his arm like I was royalty or something! I was shocked...and impressed.

"What planet are you FROM?" I asked as he opened my car door after we'd pulled up at the Corner Pocket.

"Uh...Earth?" he responded quizzically.

"Well, most Earth guys I know don't do stuff like this," I commented, taking his arm. He shrugged.

"Guess I'm not a normal guy," he replied. No Brad, you certainly weren't, and I liked it. He held open the door for me. "Hope you don't mind the smoke, these guys like their nicotine."

I shrugged. "Fine by me."

He took my coat and checked it for me, then we got a table and he began racking up the balls.

"Go pick a stick, I'm gonna finish racking these," he said, rearranging balls and lining them just so. I walked to the rack behind him, looking awkwardly at the pool sticks lined up on the wall. I swear I tried to ignore the urge, but as he was bent over the table in front of me, I had to take a peak at his butt. Okay, it was longer than a peak! But god, he was just SO cute. Unfortunately, he turned around to look at me and caught me. I expected him to tease me about it, but he just gave me his signature smile and stood up.

"Okay, you want me to break?"

"Huh?" I asked.

"I'll take that as a yes," he laughed. He grabbed a stick off the wall, bent over the table, and pulled back on the stick, sending balls all across the table. One went in right off the bat.

"Okay, I guess that means I'm solids, you're stripes." he said. He shot again, missing. "Okay Carly, come here."

I approached him shyly, holding the stick in my hand awkwardly. His hand went to my lower back as he showed me how to line up the stick.

"Now pull back and hit the white ball right there," he said. I did, and the stick just went over the top of the ball, barely moving it. I made a face, and Brad laughed.

"Okay, hold on, you're holding it wrong," he said. His arms went around me, and I wanted to squeal with glee. "Hold it like this." He helped me pull back on the stick and shoot, sending one of the striped balls into the side pocket. "Perfect!"

"Thanks," I said, turning to look at him, our faces just a few inches away from each other. I bit my bottom lip, my eyes continuing to lock with his, and he closed the distance between us, his lips brushing against mine.

Eeeee! That was the only thing going through my brain. That and Oh My God. And OMG. And Holy Lord. And...wow...he's a really good kisser. He finally withdrew, grinning at me, squeezing my arm lightly.

"Okay, you got your lesson, now we play for real."

I couldn't tell if he was talking about the game or kissing, but either way I was down.

~*Sam*~

I banged on Carly's front door loudly. It was past midnight, and I had gotten a frantic text from Carly telling me to come over ASAP. I swear to god, if Brad had done something stupid I was going to break his face.

Spencer yanked the door open, looking annoyed. "Sam, it's almost one AM!" he complained. I didn't respond, just shoved past him, heading up to Carly's room.

"Yo, Carls!" I yelled. "What's the problem? Do I need to kick some ass?"

Carly was laying on her bed with a moony look on her face. I eyed her suspiciously.

"I know that look," I said.

"Yeah?" she asked dreamily.

"Did you swipe your V-card?" I asked, my jaw dropping. Carly sat up and threw a pillow at me.

"God no, Sam! Jesus!" she tried to look angry but she couldn't stop smiling. I sat down on the bed next to her.

"So how was it?" I asked.

"Perfect!" she gushed, falling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. "He took me to get sushi, then he showed me how to shoot pool, and he kissed me! Three times! Aaaaah!"

"Oh my god!" I yelled. "This is great!"

Thud. Thud. Thud. I got off the bed, annoyed, walking to Carly's door and yanking it open so I could yell down the stairs. "Spencer! Put the broom down or I'm gonna break your arm!" I slammed the door behind me, doing a flying leap onto Carly's bed and barely missing her.

"So...are you gonna go out with him again?"

"Uh...duh!" she said. "He is so awesome. I mean, I've never met anyone like him before, Sam! I...he's...oh my gosh..." she sighed.

My eyebrows went up. "Wow...so we may be looking at serious coupling in the near future?" I asked.

"I hope so!" she replied with a big grin, then paused. "You know what's fun?"

"Having sex with Freddie," I quipped.

"Sam! No! Pool! We should go back to the pool hall sometime, the four of us!" Carly said with a laugh. I shrugged.

"Okay, I could probably give Brad a run for his money though," I replied.

"Where'd you learn how to play pool?" Carly asked me.

"Uncle Carmine."

"The hitman?"

"That's the one," I said. I heard Carly's phone beep, and we both looked at it. Carly picked it up and read the text, before giving me a Look.

"Your hubby's looking for you. Did you sneak out or something? Freddie's freaking out."

I rolled my eyes. "No! He was sleeping! He looked so cute I didn't wanna wake him up."

"Aww...you guys are just too adorable. You know, when you're not manhandling each other."

I laughed. "Thanks. I better get back before he sends out the National Guard or something. Remember, we gotta get Gibby over here first thing tomorrow to teach him his dance routine." I bounced up and down excitedly. This pole-dancing Gibby scenario could end up being the greatest thing in viral video history!

"This is gonna be hilarious," Carly laughed. "Go back to Freddie before he has a conniption!"

I saluted her before exiting her room and heading down the stairs to go back to the apartment.


	20. Chapter 20: Madman

**A/N: Very intense chapter. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**Chapter Twenty:  
><strong>**Madman**

~*Carly*~

I had barely gotten out of bed and was downstairs drinking coffee when a frantic knock came at my door.

"CARLY! CARLY OPEN THE DOOR!" It was Freddie! I hopped out of my chair and hurried over, thinking something had happened with Sam. As soon as I opened the door, Freddie tore through my living room, practically diving behind the counter.

"Freddie, what the hell?" I yelled.

"Hide me!" he cried.

"Did you and Sam have a fight?" I asked, worried.

"No, she hasn't found me yet..." he trailed off. "But when she does she'll kill me!"

"What's going on?" I asked, confused.

"She's on her period!" He hissed, hiding again. My eyes widened.

Oh no. Things had been going so well. Sam during her "time of the month" was a total nightmare to deal with. You could actually correlate the amount of fights she got in based on her cycle. She could get worked up over the mildest of slights, and everyone around her suffered because of it. The next four days would be a living hell.

"I'll get the Midol..." I sighed, going to the bathroom and pulling it out of the cabinet. I walked back out. "So what did you..."

Bang! Bang! Bang! I whirled around, looking at the door fearfully.

"I'm not here!" Freddie said in a loud whisper.

"Oh god," I moaned, walking to the door and pulling it open. "Hey, S-"

"WHERE IS HE?" she hollered, walking right past me. "Come out, Freddie!"

"Sam, what's wrong?" I asked, pretending to be oblivious.

"What the hell is with all this shouting?" Spencer yelled as he came stumbling out of his room.

"Spencer, no!" I called, turning around and waving my arms. "The crimson wave! The crimson wave!"

Spencer froze, before grabbing his keys and heading for the door. "I'm out."

"You're in your pajamas," I pointed out.

"Better to be out in them than be buried in them!" he yelled before booking it.

Sam glared at me. "So he IS here. Otherwise how would you know?" Without waiting for me to answer, she walked into the kitchen. Freddie was a dead man. I watched Freddie crawl on his hands and knees around to the other side of the counter in front of me as Sam walked around the kitchen.

"Um, I think he went out the back door Sam!" I called, waiting for her to turn her back before I mouthed "GO! GO!" to Freddie.

"I'll be back," Sam gruffed as she walked out the door, shutting it behind her. Freddie waited a few seconds before rising to his feet.

"Whew. Thanks. I'm gonna get out of here. Maybe she'll calm down after a few-"

"A-HA!" Sam yelled, walking back in. "I knew it!"

Freddie froze, hanging his head in defeat. He turned around to face her, swallowing nervously. "Hey...baby..." he said.

"Don't 'hey baby' me!" she said, walking over to him. "How many times did I tell you to QUIT LEAVING THE SEAT UP?"

I put my head in my hands. God, girls got pissed off enough about that without being on their periods, and without being Sam. Freddie really WAS dead.

"Sam, I'm sorry," he pleaded. "I forgot."

"Sam, we don't hit our husbands!" I reminded her.

Sam never broke her glare from Freddie, mere inches away from his face. She growled audibly.

"You are so damn lucky I'm in love with your stupid ass," she grunted. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be back. Get Gibby over here now, we have work to do." She walked past a visibly stunned Freddie, who turned around to look at her.

"That's it?" he asked unbelievably.

"You have to deal with me like this for the next four days, it's punishment enough," she replied. "One more thing though."

"What?" he asked.

"This." She reached up and pinched his nipple roughly, twisting her wrist.

"OWWWW!" Freddie hollered, jerking away from her. "Shit!"

With that, Sam turned to me. Just because she was extremely unpredictable this time of month, my hands rose, covering my boobs, to block my own chest from her.

She snorted, amused. "You wish." She started walking towards the door.

"Sam, wait!" I called. She turned around, and I tossed the bottle of Midol to her. "Take this, please. For your husband's sake!"

She gave both of us a glare. "Fine!"

With that, she was gone, slamming the door behind her. I looked at Freddie in disbelief.

"She didn't beat the shit out of you, that's new!" I exclaimed. "You're her personal punching bag when she's on the rag usually..."

Freddie lifted his shirt to examine his chest. "Great, it's gonna bruise."

I shrugged. "Should've put the seat down."

~*Freddie*~

"I'm not doing it!"

"You're doing it!"

"I'm not gonna do it!"

"Gibby, get your dumb ass on that pole right now!" Sam hollered.

I was leaning against the desk in the studio, my head in my hand. Sam and Gibby had been arguing back and forth for almost ten minutes, and honestly, it was giving me a headache.

"Hey, if he doesn't wanna do it-" Brad began, looking down as my hand went to his chest. He looked at my and I shook my head "no" fervently, motioning for him to come closer.

"Time of the month. Be quiet, she'll kill you if you don't," I warned him.

Carly was on the other side of Brad, none of us willing to step in and make a move. We'd been dealing with this since eighth grade, and both of us knew better than to challenge Sam while she was on her period.

"Gibby, I swear to god, I will chuck you out the window if you don't get on that pole right now!" Sam yelled. "We're shooting in four hours, dammit!"

"I'm not a piece of meat!" Gibby responded. A normal person with normal sense would have noticed by now that everyone else in the room was terrified and get the hint, but no, not Gibby.

"Gibby!" Sam yelled, grabbing his shirt collar and yanking him to her. "Just do it! I'll give you one of my stupid gift cards if you do...and a class A ass-kicking if you don't!"

"For god's sake, Gibby! Take the gift card!" Carly called out. She leaned over to Brad. "I am so scared right now." He nodded, obviously freaked out, eyes as large as saucers.

"I don't need no stinkin' gift card!" he hollered.

I swiftly came off the desk as I saw Sam's fist pull back. "Sam! Back off! Down girl!" I yelled, grabbing her fist and pulling her away from Gibby. She glared at me.

"Why?" she cried. "He's being a dipshit!"

"And you're being unreasonable!" I responded. "When's the last time you ate?"

She frowned. "Like four hours ago...I'm not hungry!"

At this latest admission, Carly walked over and pressed the palm of her hand to Sam's forehead. "Are you sick or something?"

"Carly!" she growled in warning. Carly jerked her hand away quickly, as if she thought Sam would bite her.

"Give me a phone!" she said. "I'm getting this girl a pizza! Gibby!" she yelled, turning her attention to him. "Get on that pole and do what Sam says before she kills all of us! Or I'm telling Tasha I made out with you!"

"EW!" Sam and I hollered.

"Hey!" Gibby shouted in response, looking insulted. "This is bullshit!"

I lifted a hand to my brow as my headache hit full-force. There was no way in hell I could put up with this every single month. She was going to drive me insane. I walked away as Sam, Carly, and Gibby started arguing. Finally Brad walked in the middle of it, his hands going up.

"ALRIGHT!" He yelled, clearly pissed. "EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP! You're acting like a bunch of fucking kids!"

Carly's head hung down, embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm gonna go order that pizza."

Brad was mad now, he paid no attention to Carly. "Sam, Gibby's not gonna do it. Gibby, quit agitating the girl. We'll fill the slots with something else."

"But-" Sam began.

"No buts, shut the fuck up, Sam! I'm sick of this shit and so's your husband!" Brad responded.

Carly and I gave each other Looks. It was nice having Brad as an assistant, while he was still alive that was.

Sam glared at him for a second, before turning to walk over to where we kept the props and pulled out a box, dropping it at Brad's feet. "Fine, you want a different filler, find it yourself," she responded, before walking past Carly and out of the studio. Everyone looked at me expectantly.

"What?" I cried.

"Go fix it!" Carly said. "You're the husband, this is your problem now!"

I huffed. "Dammit!" I turned to follow Sam down the stairs. I walked all the way down to the living room to find her laying face down on the couch.

"What is wrong with you?" I snapped. "Just because you're on the rag doesn't give you the right to be a raging bitch to everyone!"

She snapped up so fast I thought she would get whiplash. Aw, fuck. I was so pissed off I forgot she hates that.

"You..." she trailed off, opening her mouth to speak before bursting into tears and sitting back down on the couch. I sighed. I preferred angry Sam to crying Sam. At least when she was angry I wasn't overwhelmed by guilt. I walked over to the couch, perching on the edge of it. My hand reached out tentatively to touch her knee.

"I'm sorry, baby. I slipped," I said. She didn't say anything. "Look, you're just really stressing everyone out."

"I don't feel good," she replied, sniffling. "I fucking hurt."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I fucking hurt!" she yelled. "You want a written notice?"

"What hurts, baby?"

She laid back into the couch a little bit, gesturing to the lower part of her stomach. "It hurts really bad. It hurts so bad it's making me crazy. I don't mean to keep snapping at everyone, I...it fucking hurts, okay?" she began to cry again.

I sighed. "Baby, why didn't you SAY something? Lay back." My hand went to her shoulder, easing her back onto the couch. She didn't fight me. I sat between her legs, unbuttoning and then unzipping her jeans, pulling them down slightly.

"Freddie..." she whined. "Please, not right now."

"Just shut up, okay?" I replied, my hands going her lower abdomen and massaging, bearing down slightly. She slowly let out a deep breath.

"Better?" I asked, continuing to rub. She nodded. She was like a baby panther with a spike in its paw. It would kill you as long as it was in pain, but as soon as you pull the spike out, it'd go back to being a sweet little cat. "I wish you'd talk to me when you get like this instead of trying to kill everybody."

"I can't talk to you about THIS." she said pointedly, sighing as I worked her cramps out.

"Well you can't put me through what happened today every month, either. That's not fair." I said, bending down to kiss her stomach.

"I'm sorry," she said, her arm covering her eyes.

"I know," I replied. "It's okay. Carly's gonna get you food, Brad's figuring out the filler content, and I'll try to help with these cramps."

"I'm such a bitch."

"No you're not," I replied. "I didn't mean to say that, I was just really upset."

"You were right."

"No." I responded simply, leaning over her to kiss her. "I love you. Just relax, I'll take care of you."

"You're gonna end up divorcing me one of these days," she grumbled.

"Never," I responded. "You know, it might help a little bit if you went across the hall and put on some sweats. These jeans can't be comfortable."

"I can't do iCarly in sweats," she responded.

I shrugged. "You'll change before the show." She nodded.

"I'm really sorry."

"Just relax," I responded, pulling her so she was laying across my lap so I could massage her better.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" a voice asked. I turned my head to see Carly at the stairs, giving me a Look. I recognized the look, and my face acquired a Look of its own. One of annoyance.

"I'm on cramp detail, Carly! Give me some fucking credit, Jesus!"

Carly's threw her hands in the air, clearly upset. "I'm out. There's a little too much agitation in this apartment right now. Pizza's on the way." she tossed a twenty at me. "Brad and I are going out. We'll be back before the show starts."

"You can't leave us with Gibby!" I countered. "Sam's just gonna kill him!"

"Just make sure you clean it up," she responded before going upstairs to fetch Brad.

~*Sam*~

I was in a horrible mood. Beyond horrible. I was having the worst cramps I'd ever had in my life, everyone was mad at me, and I felt like the week's webcast had been hastily thrown together and ill-rehearsed, which it was. We still did it, but it definitely wasn't our best.

Worst of all, afterwards, Carly and Brad went out, and Freddie was so sick of me that he wanted to go to the gym with GIBBY and leave me at the apartment! Even Marissa was out, at one of her Aggressive Parenting Meetings, stating she had twice as much ground to cover now with me. I had been such a raging bitch to everyone that nobody wanted to be around me. I was miserable.

I was sitting on the couch in our apartment, watching Freddie put his sneakers on.

"Do you have to go? I'm really sorry," I said.

"Baby, I'm not going to get away from you," he responded. "I do need to work out. I haven't been hitting the gym as much as I should have lately."

"Can't you just go tomorrow?"

Freddie gently pulled me toward him and kissed me. "I'll be back as soon as possible. I love you."

"Love you too," I grunted. "Hurry back."

"Bye babe," he kissed me one more time and left, shutting the door behind him.

I sat down on the couch to watch tv, grumbling to myself the entire time. A few minutes later, I heard a loud knock at the door, and got up. It was probably Freddie, forgotten his key again.

I remember unlocking the door, and I remember being yanked up off the floor by my hair. What happened in between was a blur. But the next thing I saw, I remember that, and I will never be able to forget it.

It was Bill. He had tracked me down, the one thing I feared more than anything.

"You think marrying that little boy is gonna save you, bitch?" He slammed the door shut behind him before whirling around and his fist making contact with my left temple. The first blow made my ears ring and my head spin. The next one brought the metallic taste of blood to my mouth. I was on the ground by the time the third one hit me in the jaw.

Bill stood over me, straddling me. "I didn't pop your cherry, the boy beat me to it, but that's okay. I'm still gonna enjoy this."

He was going to fucking kill me as soon as he figured out I was on my period, probably beat me to death. It didn't fit into his plan of raping me and I knew he would make me pay for it. I did the first thing that came to me, which was to bring my leg up hard, making contact with Bill's balls. He fell to his knees just after I'd managed to slide out from under him, springing to my feet, running for the door.

"Little whore!" I felt my head jerk back as he grabbed my hair before slamming my forehead into the counter, and I fell to the ground, my head feeling like it was on fire. I tried to get up, crying out in pain as Bill's boot came down on top of my back. I heard him unbuckle his belt and slide it off, and then the next thing I felt was a thick piece of leather hitting me across the back of my neck. I screamed in pain, and I felt a cold chill go down my spine as I heard a terrifying sound, the clicking of a lighter. He continued to pin me to the ground with his foot, calmly light a cigarette.

"That was the worst mistake you ever could have made, little girl," he said, before kicking me in the ribcage.

~*Spencer*~

I was wrapped up in my late night adult cartoons, but kept getting distracted by the sounds across the hall. It was no secret that Sam was on her period, and that she tended to get out of line whenever that happened. She and Freddie must have really been having an intense argument, but it was annoying and needed to stop. Especially before someone else called the cops. I stood up, tying my bathrobe and opening the door to walk across the hallway. I knocked on the door.

"Hey guys? You're making a lot of noise!" I called through the door.

No answer.

"Guys?"

I moved to walk away from the door, when I suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream. I whirled around, banging on the door again. "Sam!" I banged louder. "Sam!"

"HELP ME!"

My eyes widened, and I moved through pure instinct, kicking the door harder than I had ever kicked anything in my life, it flew open, landing against the wall with a loud bang, and I rushed in.

If I hadn't been so hopped up on adrenaline, I would have passed out. A man was standing over top of Sam, holding a handgun that had blood coming off of it. Sam was laying on the ground on her side, shirtless, her pajama pants torn half way down her legs, bloodied, with burns all over her. Her arms were wrenched behind her, her upper arms strapped together with a belt and pulled back in a way that made me sure they were dislocated. It looked like something out of one of those cable cop dramas that base their entire plotlines around women getting tortured.

"Spencer!" she screamed desperately. Before I could get a hit in the guy whirled around, pointing the gun at me. My hands went up and my eyes widened. I'd NEVER had a gun pointed at me before.

"Hey man...just leave..." I said nervously. "Just leave. You walk away and you won't get-"

Wham! I felt the back of my head hit the wall and I was dazed for a second, my hand going to my jaw that had been hit. The guy advanced towards me and pressed the pistol against my head. I thought my heart would stop before he had a chance to shoot me, that I would die of a heart attack.

"You didn't see shit, motherfucker!" he yelled before hitting me again and running out the door. Fuck, that hurt! I felt the taste of blood in my mouth, but I regained my bearings quickly to hurry over to Sam, falling to my knees. She was hysterical, screaming in complete agony, her legs writhing as she tried to free herself from the painful restraint she was in.

"Help me! Spencer! Help...me! Oh god..."

"Sam, it's okay, it's okay..." My hands went to the belt wrapped around her arms, unhooking it and pulling it free. Her arms went limp as she left out a scream of pain. I could tell she was trying to move them, but she couldn't.

"Oh god, it hurts, it fucking hurts...help me..."

I struggled to maintain my composure, to not lose it completely. I wasn't prepared for this. But I had to do SOMETHING. I needed to turn her over, there was a small pool of blood coming from underneath her side and I had to find out where it was coming from.

"I gotta turn you over Sam," I warned her.

"No...don't...it hurts...please no!"

"Sam, I've got to!" I cried, my voice pained, head pounding.

"No...no...no...please...don't touch me...no..."

"Hold on, Sam, just hold on." I grabbed one side of her body, rolling her over to her back, trying to ignore the shriek of pain she let out. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. I wanted to throw up or pass out. The blood had come from her ribs. Her entire ribcage on her right side looked like it had been stomped on, most of them pushed in with one sticking through her skin, jagged white bone stark against the crimson blood surrounding it.

Sam tried to move her arm to her ribs, but she couldn't, both of them were dislocated. I pulled my robe off and laid it over her, for modesty's sake, trying in vain to ignore the blood that was quickly soaking through it. Her head had a huge gash in it. Blood was streaked around her mouth and in her hair. She had a burn on her face. She coughed, shaking uncontrollably.

"Spen...help...god...hurts..." she choked out. "I want...oh god...want Freddie."

I scrambled to my feet to find a phone, dialing 911.

"Operator, what is your emergency?"

"I need an ambulance! Now! Bushwell Plaza, apartment 8-D!" I hollered. "Sixteen year old girl, broken ribs, extreme blood loss, massive injuries. GET SOMEONE OVER HERE NOW!"

Sam's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she continued to seizure on the floor, her teeth chattering; I was sure she would stop breathing any second. I dropped the phone, falling on the floor next to her.

"SAM!" I yelled. "Stay with me!" I shook her chin. "BREATHE!"

She said nothing, just continued to jerk on the floor and gasp, struggling to breathe. Her head lolled to the side, blood flowing out of her side.

I was helpless. She was going to die in the middle of the floor and there was nothing I could do. If I tried to stop her from hemorrhaging, it could puncture a lung. If I didn't, she could bleed to death. I was trying so hard to hold it together, for Sam's sake. I tried to keep talking to her, as if that would somehow keep her from dying. The only way I could tell she was still alive was the choking sounds she was making and her legs moving back and forth, twisting in pure agony.

The paramedics arrived in ten minutes. It was the longest ten minutes of my life.

"Shit! Hemorrhage!" A paramedic yelled as four ran in and dropped to the floor around her.

"What happened?" Another asked me as the others began working on her.

"She was attacked," I said. "I live across the hall, she's my sister's best friend and..."

"FLATLINING! SHE'S FLATLINING!" One of the other paramedics hollered. "We need a defibrillator! Now!"


	21. Chapter 21: Crying, Waiting, Hoping

**A/N: Wow, got a TON of reviews for the last chapter, guess there's nothing like a good cliffhanger, huh?**

**Chapter Twenty One:  
><strong>**Crying, Waiting, Hoping**

~*Freddie*~

I was pushing myself a little bit harder than I normally would, but all the stress with Sam had gotten me out of sorts. I hated to leave her while she wasn't feeling well, but truthfully she was about to drive me nuts. I'd done so many push-ups trying to get an endorphin rush I'd lost count.

"How many you got, Gibby?" I asked, turning my head to look at the lump of flesh laying next to me, gasping for air.

"Seven." he gasped, struggling to push himself back up. I laughed to myself, shaking my head as I continued doing reps. The next few days were going to be really difficult, I had a feeling I'd be here the rest of the week. I loved Sam to death, but when she was moody she was a pain to be around. I tried to keep reminding myself that this was normal, all married couples had spats. Maybe we'd been spending too much time together.

A loud banging sound broke my concentration, and I came clattering down to the floor. I shook myself off and stood up, thoroughly annoyed. All my annoyance faded when I looked up to see Brad and Carly tearing through the gym towards me, and I felt my stomach drop.

"FREDDIE!" Carly hollered, jumping over a weight bench, clearing it effortlessly. "FREDDIE!"

I started running towards her. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

Carly stopped, out of breath, resting her hands on her knees, her head dropping down for a second. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Carly! What's going on?" Please, god. No. Don't tell me –

"Sam!" she gasped. "Bill! We gotta go...hospital...now!"

I didn't speak, just shoved past her and Brad, grabbing my keys and booking it for the door.

"FREDDIE WAIT!" I could hear Carly yelling, but I didn't stop.

The run from the gym to the parking lot was a blur. I backed out of the parking space, tires squealing, pressing my foot all the way down on the gas. It was fifteen minutes to the hospital. I got there in eight, parking sideways and not even bothering to lock my car as I ran in through the emergency doors, barely able to stop myself from skidding into the check-in desk.

The nurse looked up at frowned at me. "Can I help you?" she asked coldly.

"Samantha Benson," I breathed, gasping for air. "Where is she?"

"Hold on, let me check the records..." I stood there tapping my foot impatiently as she looked through the computer. Her face paled a bit, and she looked up at me. "Your name?"

"Freddie...I mean Fredward Benson. I'm her husband."

She stood up, pushing her chair back. "Come with me."

~*Spencer*~

I was sitting in a chair in the waiting room outside the surgical department, praying. I didn't do that very often, maybe every few years or so, but it was the only thing I could think of to do. I was ripped out of my thoughts when the double doors across from me flew open and Freddie came running in.

"Spencer!" he said. "What happened? What the hell happened?"

I wanted to talk about it, but I couldn't. I was still having trouble making sense of it myself.

"She's in surgery. She's hurt real bad, man." I said, standing up and putting my hands on his shoulders. "I heard banging across the hall, I thought you guys were fighting, but..."

"What did he do to her?" he cried, falling down onto a chair, his legs bouncing up and down, shaking.

"Look, Freddie, I'm not gonna give you a play-by-play. I can barely handle it, I know you can't-"

"JUST TELL ME WHAT HE FUCKING DID!" Freddie yelled, leaping to his feet like he was going to punch me in the face.

"Calm down!" I yelled. "This isn't gonna help Sam, okay? She flatlined twice IN THE APARTMENT! They had to keep bringing her back! Her fucking shoulders are dislocated, her ribcage is CAVED IN! It's fucking bad, Freddie."

I saw Freddie clenching his hands repeatedly, before whirling around and hitting the wall with his left fist. "GODDAMMIT!" he yelled. "She asked me not to go! She fucking begged me to stay, and I left her there ALONE! This is my fucking fault!" He collapsed on the ground and began sobbing.

"Spencer!" I looked up to see Carly, Gibby, and Brad running in. "Oh my god...Freddie..." Carly trailed off, dropping to her knees and pullling him into her arms. "It's okay, Freddie. It's okay." Her hand went to his head, stroking his hair, trying to calm him down.

"It's not okay," he cried, his voice muffled by Carly's shoulder. "It's my fault. I fucking left her!"

"Freddie, it's not your fault! None of us had any idea this would happen!" Carly said. "You can't blame yourself."

"Have you gotten any updates?" Brad asked me. I shook my head.

"They took her back and I haven't heard ANYTHING. She was...I can't talk about it," I said, sitting down.

"Oh my god, if she dies, fuck...I'm never going to forgive myself," Freddie yelled, still crying.

"Freddie, stop!" Carly said, crying herself. "You can't do this!"

"What am I supposed to do?" Freddie asked. He swung at the chair in front of him, sending it clattering to the floor. "FUCK!" He was silent for a moment. "Carly, I need a minute."

"Freddie -"

"Carly, PLEASE!" he yelled. Carly let go, springing to her feet, looking at me helplessly. I motioned for her to come sit next to me, and she started walking towards the chair, but then suddenly grabbed my phone before running off into the hallway.

"CARLY!" Brad yelled, starting to go after her, but I stopped him.

"Just let her go, dude, she'll come back, I'm sure of it." I said. I pointed to Freddie. "Deal with him right now. He needs a friend right now, bad." Brad nodded, him and Gibby dropping to their knees and speaking to Freddie in a low voice I couldn't quite hear. I sighed and pressed the icepack the nurse had given me to my face, leaning my head against the wall. We all were in for a long night.

~*Carly*~

"This is the Air Force Family Emergency Line, how can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Carly Shay. My father is Col. Steven Shay, he's stationed on a submarine right now, I need to get in touch with him immediately. There's a life or death situation!" I said into the phone as I paced back and forth outside the hospital.

"Okay, miss, we will send contact. Wait by your phone for a response, it may take a few hours," the operator responded.

"Okay," I replied, trying not to burst into tears over the phone. "Please hurry!"

"I'll do my best, Miss. Is this your contact number?"

"Yes! Yes, just please...I need to talk to my dad!" I cried.

"Thank you." The call ended, and I continued to pace, my hands going up to my head as I tried to control myself from having a panic attack. It was raining. I ran under the overhang in front of the emergency room, sitting on the ground and resting my head on my knees. And I waited.

It was forty five minutes before the phone rang, and I answered it before it even had a chance to finish the first ring.

"Hello?" I cried as I jumped to my feet. "Hello? Dad?" No response. I almost hung up until I heard a faint "Carly?"

"Daddy!" I cried. "I need your help!"

His voice was mumbled and the call was breaking up, but then again, he was all twenty thousand leagues under the sea. "Carly...five second...delay." he said. I was used to that when we had talked before. I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself down.

"Are you hurt?" he said. "Spencer hurt?"

"No!" I cried. "It's Sam! She's hurt real bad, Daddy! She's in surgery, they don't know if she'll make it out! The guy that did this to her, he's a cop, he's not gonna get in trouble...I don't know who else to talk to...help me!"

"...slow down...Carly. Give me a name."

"Bill Powers! Detective Bill Powers! Seattle Police! Please, please help us Daddy!" I cried. "You're the only one who can help me! He has to pay for doing this!"

"Carly...I'll do...everything I can...calm down...I'll run...the name..." It was hard to hear my dad, but I was just happy he'd agreed to help us. My dad knew people in every branch of the government; if he couldn't help us, no one could.

"Thank you Dad!" I cried. "Thank you so much!"

"Give me...48...hours...will have...info...Honey...gotta...go...love...you..."

"I love you Dad! Goodbye!" I hung up the phone, staring at it for a second, before dropping to my knees.

"Please, God. Please let her be okay. Please, God. Please let Sam be okay. Please, God. Please let her be okay. Please, God. Please let Sam be okay...Please, God..."

~*Freddie*~

"Fredward Benson?"

I looked up from the floor to see a doctor standing over me, and sprang to my feet. "Is she alive?" I asked, before he could open his mouth. "Doctor, is she alive? Tell me!"

"Calm down, son. She is alive. We had to go in and repair some arterial damage and give her a blood transfusion. The right side of her rib cage caved in, she's got quite a few broken ribs...luckily it didn't puncture her lung. Both of her shoulders were dislocated, her right arm and shoulder are broken, her left cheekbone as well, a mild concussion, but she's going to recover. If your neighbor hadn't gotten to her in time though, she would have been beyond help. She was extremely lucky."

"Luck?" I glared at the doctor. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME! What kind of luck gets a girl raped and beaten up?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brad approach me from the side, just in case I were to flip out and hit the doctor or something. Honestly, I was beyond the point of control, so anything was possible.

"She wasn't raped, that's the lucky part." The doctor said. "She's in recovery right now, we'll be moving her to the ICU shortly."

"When can I see her?" I asked. I heard Spencer ask Gibby to call my mother, but I wasn't responding to anything around me.

"We'll let you know," he replied.

"When is that gonna be?" I cried. "I have to see her!"

"Son, just calm down, she's gonna be alright. Give us time to move her to the ICU, you can see her then."

I nodded, turning to sit down in a chair, resting my head in my hands.

"Thanks, Doc." I heard Gibby say to the doctor before sitting down next to me. "She'll be alright, dude."

"She's never gonna forgive me for this," I said, wiping my face.

"Freddie, when I got to her, she kept screaming for you. She won't blame you." Spencer said. I know he was trying to make me feel better, but it only made it worse. If I had been there this never would have happened. I would have stopped him or beaten him up or killed him or all three and she'd be safe. I had taken an oath to protect her, and I had FAILED. Even if she could somehow forgive me, I'd never forgive myself.

"Your mom's on the way," Spencer said, touching my leg. I nodded. I watched Brad get up.

"I'm gonna go get sodas and find Carly," he said. "I'll be back."

All I could think about was how bad I'd fucked up. I felt like the worst person on earth. Sam was being beaten, being TORTURED, while I was at the gym doing push-ups because I wanted to get away from her. I deserved to be in that hospital bed, not her.

I was trying to hold it together, but I couldn't, and I broke down into tears again. So much for being a man.

~*Brad*~

I walked through the hospital corridors, trying to piece everything together and find Carly. I was still in shock. Sam was a tough chick, sure, but she was a tiny little thing, I couldn't imagine a grown man being sick enough to do this to a teenage girl. I hoped whoever it was would pay. I had a thought, picking up my phone.

"Hey, dad? I was wondering, are there any cops named Bill down at your precinct? Actually I think he might be a detective."

"Bill's kind of a general name, son." my dad responded. "Anymore info?"

"No, sorry," I responded. "I'll try. Can you just run all the guys named Bill...or I guess William, and see what comes back? One of my friends got put in the hospital tonight, she's beat up pretty bad...everyone's saying it was a cop that did it."

"WHAT? That's impossible!" my dad yelled. "Cops don't do that."

"Dad, don't give me that protecting one of your own garbage. This guy shattered a sixteen year old girl's ribs. Not a police matter either, a personal matter, if you know what I mean."

"You've gotta be kidding me, that's sick."

"I wish I was kidding. Just run the name, okay?"

"Alright, son, I'll do it. When are you coming home?"

"I'm at the hospital, I don't know when I'm coming back. It may be awhile. I wanna stick around and see if she's okay."

"What's the girl's name?"

"Sam...Samantha Benson...errr...Puckett. I don't know if she's filed for a name change or not...her mom's definitely a Puckett though. Cross reference it I guess, it's her mom's boyfriend so maybe that will lead to something..." I trailed off as I looked out the side door and saw Carly sitting on the ground. "I've gotta go, Dad. Call me if you find something out." I clicked the phone off, walking outside and sitting down next to Carly.

She was on her knees and curled up into a ball, mumbling. I was more than concerned, I hoped she wasn't losing it.

"Carly?" I asked nervously. "What are you doing?"

"I'm praying," she said, sniffling. She sat up.

"You've been out here for an hour and a half praying?" I asked in surprise. She nodded. I stood up, offering her my hand. "Get up. Sam's out of surgery."


	22. Chapter 22: Happiness is a Warm Gun

**A/N: Reading everyone's reviews made me =D! First person to find the hidden Beatles reference gets a cookie!**

**Chapter Twenty Two:  
><strong>**Happiness is a Warm Gun**

~*Freddie*~

Sam had been in ICU for just over two hours, and I began making demands to see her. I had waited long enough. I didn't care whether she was conscious or not, I just needed to see with my own eyes that she was alive and breathing.

The nurses were not being helpful, and didn't seem to care whether I got to see her or not. After hours of being polite, I finally lost it, and started yelling.

"I want to see my fucking wife!" I yelled at the nurse sitting behind the desk. "GET OFF YOUR ASS RIGHT NOW AND SHOW ME WHERE SHE IS!"

"FREDWARD!" My mom yelled, shaking my shoulders. "Calm down, or they'll put you in the mental ward!"

"I can't calm down! I have to see Sam!" I yelled, struggling to control myself.

"We can't let you see her until you calm down!" the nurse said. I took a deep breath, trying to slow my heartbeat, which had been beating a mile a minute since I got to the hospital.

Carly, Brad, Spencer, and Gibby were sitting in the ICU waiting room, drifting in and out of consciousness. I couldn't even think about sleep. The only thing I could think about were Sam...and how terribly guilty I felt. I didn't think I'd ever be able to get over it.

"Bree, I think Freddie will calm down more once he sees her," my mom said to the nurse. She knew most of the nurses at the hospital, being a nurse herself. "Just let him go in."

Bree glared at me. "Fine. No loud noises. Do not TRY to wake her up. If she comes to, that's fine, but do NOT try to wake her up."

"Is she on pain meds?" I asked. My poor baby had to be in so much pain. Bree nodded, and I took a deep breath, telling myself to be brave and not break down once I saw her. "Take me to her, please."

Bree stood up. "This way," she said. "Only one person at a time."

I followed Bree down the corridor until she took me to room 312, opening the door for me. "Try to keep your cool," she chided. I glared at her, but bit my tongue.

Okay, Freddie. Do not freak out. Do not freak out. I closed my eyes, trying to mentally prepare myself, and walked in the room.

She looked so small and fragile in the hospital bed, machines and devices hooked up to her, an IV in her arm. Her shoulder and arm were in a cast. And god...her beautiful face was so bruised, stitches and bandages everywhere. I wanted to cry, but held strong. I walked to the bed, grabbing the chair that was in the corner and moving it closer. I stared at her for awhile, not speaking.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there, baby," I said finally. "I'm sorry I let you down." Hesitantly I ran my fingertips across her hand, the one that didn't have a cast wrapped around it. "I'm never gonna leave you again, I promise."

I don't know how long I stayed in there with her, but I know I drifted off, my head resting on the side of the bed. I was half-asleep when I felt something touch my hair. I blinked, raising my head to see Sam peering at me through half lidded eyes.

"Sam!" I said, grabbing her hand and kissing it. "Baby, I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..."

"S'okay," she mumbled. "I was...being a bitch." Her voice was raspy and her breathing shallow, like every breath she took required tremendous effort.

"No no no!" I cried. "This is my fault."

"Not your fault," she responded. "I love you."

"I love you so much, Sam!" I said, starting to cry. "I'm sorry baby."

"Man up..." she said with a small smile, causing me to laugh in spite of my tears.

"I'll try," I said. "I was so scared...I thought I wasn't gonna be able to see you again."

"Me too." she responded. "I love you."

"I love you too baby." My hand went to touch her hair lightly.

She looked down and frowned. "My ring?"

"I think it's with the rest of your stuff. I'll find out for you."

"What...I know what happened...but...injuries?"

I sighed. "A lot. Most of the ribs on your right side is broken. You were in surgery, you lost a lot of blood. And your arm..." I trailed off, not wanting to upset her. "Are you in pain?"

"No," she said weakly. "I feel pretty weird though..."

I laughed. "That's the morphine baby."

"Oh." she replied. "Freddie?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Kiss me."

I was hesitant. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"I can't feel shit. Please..."

I smiled. "Sure thing, my sweet baby." I leaned over the bed, my lips brushing against hers. She managed to bring her free hand to my collar, grabbing it so I wouldn't pull away right away. I sighed, feeling somewhat relieved. I hadn't lost her. She wasn't angry with me. She still wanted to touch me.

"I love you," she said, looking up at me. "I was so scared..."

"I know baby." I held her hand. "I should have been there for you."

"It's not your fault." she said. We were both silent for a little while, and she spoke again. "I'm sleepy. Will you stay?"

I kissed her hand. "Nothing on earth could pull me away from you right now."

"K," she said, closing her eyes. "Love you," she murmured before drifting off.

~*Carly*~

I was exhausted, sore from trying to sleep in a waiting room chair, and worried sick. I mentally kept my fingers crossed that my dad would be able to pull up some information on Bill. All I could think about was getting revenge on that sick bastard for what he did to my best friend. I wanted to kick Sam's mom's ass for ever letting him near her. It was amazing how something like this could pull such a primal, violent urge out someone as weak as me. I sat up, stretching, looking around me. Brad was slumped down next to me, his head hanging back, asleep. Gibby had given up on chair-sleeping awhile ago, fashioning a makeshift pillow out of my purse and laying on the ground in front me. Spencer was sitting in the corner, his head leaned against the wall, an ice pack balanced precariously on top of his face.

I was incredibly grateful that Spencer had been able to get in there and save Sam, risking his own life in the process. It was a terrifying thought. I could have lost the two most important people in my life on the same time...while I was on a date. I chewed at my nails nervously.

"Carly?" I looked up to see Freddie's mom standing in the doorframe and I jumped to my feet.

"Would you like to see Sam?" Mrs. Benson asked me. "We're not supposed to let more than one person in the room, and Freddie won't leave her, but I've got some pull around here, so..." she trailed off.

"Yeah!" I nodded fervently. "Oh my god, yes." I rushed down the hall, following Mrs. Benson. She steered me towards the door, opening it for me.

"Just be quiet dear," said, before patting my shoulder. I nodded and walked into the room, wanting to burst into tears as soon as I saw Sam lying in the hospital bed. There were so many machines hooked up to her...

"Hey," Freddie said softly.

"Hi," I responded, sitting down in one of the chairs. "How is she?"

Freddie shrugged. "She'll live. Thank god." He bent down to kiss Sam's hand.

"Has she woken up at all?"

He nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah...we talked a little bit. I fucked up so bad, Carly."

I shook my head. "No. I told you before, this isn't your fault."

"Yeah, it is." he replied sadly, looking down. "What if she's like...damaged...forever?"

"I don't think that's possible, Freddie. Sam's a really strong girl...and she has you now."

"Yeah, a lot of good I am." he responded gruffly.

I ignored his latest admission of self-deprecation. "Do you think she's in any pain?"

"She's got a lot of morphine in her right now," he responded.

I nodded. I felt awkward just sitting there, staring at Sam, and got up. "Well, will you let me know if she wakes up?"

"Yeah, I will. I'll be here awhile." Freddie replied.

"Do you want some food or something?" I asked. He shook his head. "Look, just don't neglect yourself, that won't help her."

"Thanks mom," he grunted. I said nothing, just walked out, going back to take my seat next to Brad. He felt me sit down, straightening up and yawning.

"Hey," he said. "Did you see Sam?" he asked as he put his arm around me. I nodded.

"She looks horrible," I replied softly. "This is so bad."

He took my hand. "Don't worry, Carly, everything's gonna be fine." I nodded, hoping against hope my dad would be able to use his military connections to give that bastard what he had coming.

~*Sam*~

Ow. That was the first thought that came to me as I drifted in and out of consciousness. OW. OWWW!

I became faintly aware of the fact that the screaming wasn't inside my head, I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I had never been in so much pain in my life, my ribs felt like they were burning inside my chest. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, it hurt to think. My eyes popped open as I continued to scream.

"AAAAHHHHH!" I tried to sit up, but I couldn't

"Shit," I heard Freddie say, letting go of my hand and running towards the door, sticking his head out. "Hey! Her meds have warn off! MOM!"

I felt like I was going to throw up, I was in complete agony. It hurt to scream, but I couldn't stop. I was beyond comprehension of anything around me, except the pain.

"Hold on, baby, hold on..."

"Okay, okay, I'm here..." I heard another voice say. The next thing I remember was a shocking, warm sensation flooding across my body and my muscles go weak as my head fell back on the pillow, my eyes rolling in the back of my head. And then the pain was gone. Oh man, god bless whoever invented this shit.

"Better, baby?" I heard Freddie say, but I couldn't respond. That stuff really hits you like a truck. I let my breath out slowly, opening my eyes.

"Sam?" Freddie was staring at me intently. "Is that better?"

"Mmmhmm. I'm...good." I said, closing my eyes again. I heard Freddie laugh softly.

"Guess you're okay now," he replied, taking my hand in his.

"I wanna go home," I said softly, turning my head to look at him.

"You can't go home yet, baby." Freddie replied. "But don't worry, we'll get you there. I'm not leaving you."

I nodded, before drifting off again.

I don't know how long I slept, but I became aware of hearing voices. I recognized Freddie's voice, and Marissa's, but the third voice I didn't. They were talking about me. I kept my eyes shut, pretending to sleep so I could listen.

"Well, she's extremely lucky the paramedics were able to resuscitate her after she flatlined..."

"FLATLINED?" I asked, my eyes popping open. I saw Freddie, Marissa, and I'm assuming a doctor turn around to look at me. My eyes went to Freddie. "You didn't tell me I DIED!" I croaked out.

"I didn't want to freak you out," he said, coming to sit down by my bed. I didn't point out that this situation was impossible to not be freaked out about, I was too weak and exhausted. I just looked at the doctor. "Talk." I HAD DIED?

"Samantha, I'm Dr. Robert." he said. "It's nice to see you awake."

"How long did I die for?" I couldn't believe this shit. It kept getting worst.

"Well, according to the records, the first time your heart stopped for..."

"First time?" I asked, shocked, wanting to cry, but holding back.

"Yes, the paramedics had to resuscitate you twice." I was silent.

So, technically, Bill HAD managed to kill me, I was just brought back, died again, and then brought back again. That was too much to take. I looked over at Freddie, and I could tell he knew what I was thinking.

"She's about to freak out, give me a minute." He got up to start pushing his mother towards the door. "Dr. Robert, please, just give me a second."

The doctor glared at him.

"Go!" I said, my choking up. I don't cry in front of people I don't know, it's a rule of mine. I don't even like crying in front of people I DO know. I don't like crying period! Finally Dr. Robert (what kind of a name is that anyway?) left, and I broke down, starting to cry.

"Sam...Sam...calm down...don't get too upset, baby..."

"Freddie!" I cried. I was still too fuzzy from the medication to get out more than a few words at a time. It seemed like I had lost my bite, my wit, my brain, everything that made me...well, ME. And that was frustrating as hell.

"Okay, it's okay." Freddie said, "God, I wish I could hug you right now, but I can't, baby. But you can't get too upset, I don't know what will happen if you do..."

"Am I...is it gonna happen again? How? Why?" I cried.

"You lost a lot of blood..." he trailed off. "They gave you a transfusion."

Oh, gross. I had someone else's blood coursing through my veins. This just kept getting worse and worse.

"I want to go home," I said. I know I'd said it before, and I know it wasn't possible, but it didn't change the fact that the only thing I wanted was to be at home with Freddie in bed, uninjured. I groaned as another thought popped into my head.

"What is it?" he asked, his fingertips running up and down my left arm.

"The apartment," I said. "There's blood everywhere, right?"

"Baby, that's the least of my worries right now. We can clean floors. If I lose you, I can't get you back." I grabbed his arm, and his eyes trailed up to mine.

"You can't lose me," I replied. "The bastard killed me and I still wouldn't give you up."

He smiled. "I love you so much."

"Kiss me, nub." I said. He rose to his feet and leaned forward, kissing me softly. I wanted to deepen the kiss but it would probably just end up aggravating an injury or something. This was such bullshit! The only thing I wanted was for Freddie to be able to pull me into his arms but it wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Bill was going to have one hell of a time. He had broken me and nearly taken everything from me. He was fucked. And I didn't mean from Freddie or Spencer or anyone else. As soon as I was able to, I was going to kill the bastard. I didn't care if I had to shoot him, stab him, or strangle him with my bare hands. I was NOT a victim, I would fight back, and he wouldn't be lucky enough to be brought back.


	23. Chapter 23: Not a Second Time

**A/N: Things are only gonna start getting more intense from here on out. Just sayin'. I can't thank everyone enough for the excellent reviews, it makes my face light up everytime I read some of the amazing feedback from you guys! Writing is my true passion and the fact that people like what I do makes it all the more enjoyable! I just wish my passion for my "work" writing matched my passion for THIS. It's one of my favorite stories I've ever done, I've really enjoyed writing it!**

**Chapter Twenty Three:**  
><strong>Not a Second Time<strong>

~*Sam*~

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" I yelled excitedly. Bounce, bounce, bounce...crack. "OWWW!"

"Sam, will you stop bouncing around like that? Your ribs still aren't healed all the way, if you re-crack one of them, I swear to god..."

"I can't help it, I'm so damn excited I can't sit still!" I argued.

Carly looked up from the massive duffel bag she was currently stuffing my belongings into. "Well you're gonna have to, or they're not gonna let you go!"

"Ugh...where are the release papers? I'm sick of this place!"

"They're coming, we're just waiting on the doctor. How many prescriptions do you have again? I have four pill bottles here, that's right isn't it?"

"Yeah, Marissa got authorization to give me the liquid morphine, but there's no way in hell she'd just leave it laying around here. She's got it with her."

"Where's the bunny?"

I held up the fuzzy purple rabbit Freddie had given me three days after what I now referred to as "the incident."

"His name is Nosferatu, and he's right here!"

"Why would you named a stuffed animal after a silent-film vampire?" she asked with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Because he has pointy ears, big teeth, and will EAT YOUR SOUL!" I yelled, tossing the rabbit at her with my good arm, hitting her in the head. She glared at me, annoyed.

"I cannot wait until you're off that morphine shit, it makes you loopier than you normally are."

I had been in the hospital for over three weeks, and the day I had been dreaming about had finally come. They were letting me go home! I couldn't believe it, my mind was racing with all the things I was looking forward to that I had missed. Cable television, caffeinated beverages, ham sandwiches...and finally, finally, finally being back in me and Freddie's bed. With Freddie. I still had three weeks to go before they could take the cast off my arm, which I wasn't too happy about. It drove me crazy. It always itched. Freddie had managed to superglue a few chopsticks end to end to make me a scratching device, but I hated the stupid cast more than anything. I couldn't wait to get it off. I was going to go full-force on getting my arm strength back, because...well. I had plans.

I had spoke of my plans to no one, not even Freddie. I knew he would try to talk me out of it. But I had been plotting for weeks. How I was going to track the asshole down, what I was going to do to him. How I would cover it up. It would be perfectly executed. I lived for two things at the moment, and two things only: Freddie, and getting my revenge on that stupid bastard Bill. Just thinking about him made my blood boil, but right now I wanted to be happy, not pissed off.

"Where is Freddie? He said he would be back soon..." I trailed off.

Carly stood up, giving me a strange sort of look I couldn't quite read.

"He's uh...taking care of something."

"Like what? Don't keep secrets from me, Shay!"

"Um...he's buying you something." she said, the look on her face clearly saying she had spoiled some sort of surprise.

"I really hope it's ham. Or waffles. No...ham. Definitely ham." The no-salt, no-fat diet in the hospital was really wearing me down. I craved every meat product on earth. Carly and Freddie had done their best to sneak in food to me, but the hospital staff caught on quick and had begun subjecting everyone who visited me to searches. Some sort of anti-deliciousness protocol.

"You've been dreaming about food this entire time, haven't you?" Carly asked, an amused look on her face. I nodded.

"And...other things. Which I still have to wait on...which is total bullshit!" I hollered.

"Sam, you have sex, you crack a rib, what's so hard to understand about that?"

"But it'd be worth it!" I yelled. "Carly, you don't get it! The only thing I want is a giant ham sandwich, and then for Freddie to throw me down on the bed and..."

"Okay, I get it! Just a few more weeks, and then you can bang Freddie as much as you want."

I snorted. "That boy's not gonna be able to walk when I get done with him." I wasn't kidding either. I had three weeks of no sex, no making out, nothing beyond a simple kiss on the lips. Freddie didn't want to get me riled up, and I didn't want to get him riled up either. It wouldn't be fair. Still, I had all kinds of pervy little fantasies built up in my head. Luckily my birth control hadn't interfered with any of my other meds, so I continued to take it, and when Freddie and I could finally make love again, condoms would officially be a thing of the past. I wasn't going to get rid of them though. Things between Brad and Carly had really started to heat up, so I had a feeling she'd be needing a stash of her own soon.

I heard a soft knock at the door, and we turned to see Marissa staring in the doorway. I smiled at her, genuinely happy to see her. She had gone from 'Crazy' to someone I couldn't imagine not having in my life. She had been at the hospital as much as Freddie, if not more if you counted when she was actually on call. Freddie was taking good care of my heart, but Marissa had taken care of my body. She changed my bandages, kept me hopped up on all the good pain meds, brought me late night ice-cream from the hospital freezer, and helped me get up and go to the bathroom, which was something I absolutely REFUSED to let Freddie do. I could be on my deathbed and I wouldn't let that boy see me use the bathroom! That would have been a total death sentence to our sex life if you ask me, and that was something I would NEVER let happen.

"Hey!" I said brightly. "Look, Carly packed all my stuff for me!"

"That's great, honey!" Marissa responded before giving me a gentle hug. "You're really ready to get out of here, huh?"

"You have no idea," I responded. "Where's Freddie?"

Marissa's brow furrowed. "He said he was on his way over here..."

I shot a worried look at Carly, and then picked up my phone to call him. No answer. That was weird, he always answered when I called.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, Sam." Carly said, trying to reassure me.

"This is like the most important day ever, and he picks TODAY to be late?" I exclaimed. "What the hell?"

"He'll be here, Sam! Don't worry!" Carly said.

I leaned back into the pile of pillows on my bed, wincing a little bit as I felt my ribs shift. "Need a refill," I said, tapping my arm and looking at Marissa. She stood up promptly.

"I'll go get the syringe."

~*Freddie*~

"I still think this is a bad idea. We could get in a lot of trouble," Gibby said nervously. "Like, prison time trouble."

I glared at him. "If you want out, fine. But Sam's worth it, at least to me."

"I know that, but...I didn't think we were gonna go this far."

"Gibby, we've been over the plan. It's solid. Fool-proof. Every possible base has been covered," Brad said.

"But..."

"Gibby, stop being a fucking pussy!" Spencer yelled. "This is important!"

"He deserves worse," I grunted. "And I can't have Sam out of the hospital and in the apartment unless...well. Unless this is finished." I turned to Brad. "Where's your dad?"

Brad looked at his watch. "Seven minutes."

I took a deep breath. What we were about to do was absolutely insane, but necessary. Myself, Carly, Spencer, and Brad had been planning this ever since we had gotten the call from Colonel Shay. It was a highly intricate plan that would be broken down into a few different stages. We were about to implement Stage One.

I knew Sam was going to be pissed at me for being late to the hospital, but Carly was distracting her, and this was for Sam's own good.

"Five minutes."

"Spencer, you'd better get going," I said to him, before giving him a tight hug. "Good luck."

He nodded. "You too."

Spencer quickly departed down an alley way, leaving me, Brad, and Gibby leaning against the brick wall. I picked up the bat next to me, testing its weight and flexing out my wrist, swinging it in a tight circle.

"Four minutes."

I was about to take a flying leap from being a good guy who followed all the rules to...something else. But I didn't care. It wasn't about anger, it wasn't about getting revenge. It was about keeping Sam safe and preventing the same thing from happening to everyone else. The lines between good and evil had been blurred. I loved Sam so much I would do literally anything to protect her. My leg began bouncing nervously and I tried to steady myself. I looked to right. Brad was stretching out his arms, his head going from side to side as he loosened up his neck. I looked to my left. Gibby's head was down, his eyes closed, taking deep, meditative breaths.

"Three minutes."

"Here you go." I unbuckled my belt and tossed it at Brad.

A final measure. I pulled a lighter out of my pocket and handed it to Gibby. "Here you go."

"Two minutes."

"Okay...remember, this is for Sam." I said to both of them. Brad grinned at me.

"This guy's so fucked. One minute."

"Alright. Gibby, focus man." I said to him quietly. "If you want out, tell me NOW." Gibby shook his head firmly.

"I'm not backing out," he replied. The corners of my mouth turned down slightly as I nodded, impressed that Gibby was stepping up to the plate like the rest of us. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"Thanks."

"Showtime," Brad said.

**A/N: To be continued...**


	24. Chapter 24: Keep Your Hands Off My Baby

**A/N: So for a minute there, I asked myself if I was going too far with this, til I read the reviews...you guys HATE Bill lol, and it is awesome. Bring on the revenge, baby! One more thing...I tried to look it up, all over the internet. Could not find Brad's last name. So I just made one up. If he does have a different last name, let me know, but we'll be referring to him as "Brad Harrison" from here on out. (I know, Beatle last name, shocking, right?)**

**Chapter Twenty Four:  
><strong>**Keep Your Hands Off My Baby**

~*Spencer*~

I perched on the top of the closed dumpster, crouched down, waiting for the signal. I mentally steadied myself, focusing on the task at hand. Memories of previous events from three weeks ago continued to flow through my mind, like they had been doing since the night it happened. I was plagued by nightmares of my little sister's best friend, a girl I had known since she was nine years old, lying on the ground convulsing as she nearly bled to death. This could be the most important thing I ever had to do. If I slipped, if I faltered, the entire plan would fall apart.

I watched the police cruiser roll up, and I ducked down out of sight. Slowly but surely the cruiser rolled to a stop right next to the dumpster I was on top, waiting for the engine to stop. The windows were rolled down, and I listened.

"I'm getting sick of this gang bullshit. They're like animals," I heard a voice say. The last time I had heard the voice, it had said, "You didn't see shit, motherfucker!", and the man it belonged to had struck me in the head with his police-issued pistol. I prayed to god everything would go smoothly. It was go time.

"Come on, man. Let's just go find these sons of bitches, then we can go get coffee." I heard another voice reply.

"Yeah. Let's do it."

That was my cue. I quickly took a deep breath and leapt off the dumpster, slamming on top of the hood of the car with both feet and peering at the two cops through the windshield.

"Shit!" I heard Bill yell, scrambling to unbuckle his seatbelt and open his car door. He looked at me, and I looked at him, and by the look on his face I could tell he recognized me. As soon as the door swung open, I hit the pavement, tearing off at top speed down the alley way.

"Cover me!" I heard Bill yell. I continued to run, knowing he was hot on my tail. I turned a corner, the entrance to the ravine only a few feet away. I exited the alleyway, running into the ravine.

CRACK!

I skidded to a halt, turning around. Freddie had hit his mark, waiting until Bill was past him before bringing the bat down hard against his back and shoulders, sending him to the ground.

Bill recovered quickly, springing to his feet.

"How's it going, Bill?" Freddie snarled, not even flinching as Bill drew his pistol, holding it only a foot away from Freddie's head.

"You're dead, boy!" he yelled.

"Am I?" Freddie responded. "Do it." Bill hesitated slightly, and Freddie simply lifted his bat and lightly tapped the end of Bill's pistol, fearless. "DO IT!"

Click. Bill had pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Bill's hand came down, looking at his pistol in shock.

"No bullets?" Freddie said. "Aw. That's too bad," he taunted, before hauling back and swiftly bringing the bat across the side of Bill's head.

It made a sickening cracking noise, and Bill went down face first, crumpling like a tissue. In a split second, Brad had come down, straddling the sick bastard and wrapping Freddie's leather belt around Bill's biceps, wrenching his arms back painfully and tightening the belt. The same way he had done to Sam. Brad lifted him to his feet using only the belt, causing Bill to yell in pain.

"Back up! I need back up!" he hollered. Brad slapped him across his face from behind, the act of a grown man being slapped around by a teenage boy being utterly humiliating. That was how we'd planned it. To strip Bill of his dignity, the same as he'd done to Sam.

I watched the other cop stroll slowly down the alleyway before coming to a stop in front of Bill and leaning against the brick wall.

"Sorry, Bill," he said coolly. "I think I'm gonna let you handle this one on your own. Sorry about swapping our guns out, but I didn't have any bullets in mine, and didn't really feel safe, so..." He trailed off, shrugging before crossing his arms over his chest.

I watched as a smile spread across Brad's face. "Hey Dad."

Freddie brought the end of the bat to Bill's chin, tipping it up so Bill would meet his eyes, and then began to walk forward, closing the distance between the two of them.

"Didn't think your partner would give you up for torturing a sixteen year old girl and nearly killing her?" Freddie asked. Bill was silent. "That's too bad, Bill. You should really think about these things. You know, consider the consequences and all that."

"Fuck you," Bill hissed. "And your little bitch!"

Freddie looked at me, an amused expression on his face. "He's got some balls." I nodded, my arms crossed over my chest.

"Probably not for much longer though," I said.

"No, definitely not," Freddie shook his head. "Dude, how's that restraint?"

"Could be tighter," Brad mused, suddenly jerking on the end of the belt and pulling it tighter, causing Bill's arms to wrench back even more. Freddie observed Bill for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Nope," he said. "Not tight enough."

Another yank of the belt and I heard two distinct popping sounds.

"Much better," Brad said. "How's that feel?"

Freddie moved closer to Bill, reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out his packet of cigarettes. "I'm normally not a smoker, but...I've been pretty stressed out lately. Some piece of shit put my wife in the hospital." He pulled a cigarette out of the pack, sticking in it his mouth before offering me one, which I accepted. He turned and offered another to Gibby. Gibby lit his cigarette and then tossed the lighter to me. I quickly ignited mine before handing the lighter to Freddie. Freddie stretched his arms over his head, yawning, the bat waving through the air briefly, before lighting his cigarette. He took a deep drag and then blew it in Bill's face.

"Now, back to that whole...calling my wife a bitch thing." Freddie said, as he began circling Bill like a shark. "I don't like it. She DEFINITELY doesn't it like it." He laughed. "This one time, while she had me tied to our bed, I called her that, and she slapped the shit out of me. But she forgave me. Because I love her. And she loves me." He grabbed Bill's hair suddenly, jerking Bill towards him. Brad maintained his hold, which pulled Bill's arms back even further. I watched him grimace and moan in pain.

"But you," Freddie hissed. "We don't give a shit about you!" He slapped him hard across the face, and before Bill had time to recover Freddie had taken his cigarette out of his mouth and stamped it out on Bill's neck. Bill hollered, and I watched as his eyes filled with rage.

"I am going to fucking kill you and your little whore!" he yelled.

Freddie dropping the cigarette to the ground, his sneakered foot coming over it, twisting this way and that to put it out, and then took a few steps back, holding the baseball bat like he was up at the plate.

"No," he said. "You won't."

CRACK!

~*Carly*~

I paced back and forth across the hospital room floor, biting my nails nervously. It had been over an hour since go time, and I still hadn't heard any word back.

Sam was nearly hysterical. She'd started out anxious, then angry, then finally morphed into despair, trying in vain to hold back tears.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked me. "Has he said anything to you?"

"No, Sam! Freddie loves you!" I said, whirling around to look at her. "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical reason for why he's late..."

"Yeah, he's changed his mind about us!" Sam cried. "What if he decided he didn't want to deal with all the drama, Carly? What if..."

"Hey," I turned to see Freddie standing in the doorway, with Brad, Spencer, and Gibby behind him. I stared at them, looking for signs of whether or not the plan had gone awry. I saw nothing. They were calm, cool, and collected. Every single one of them. I knew by the way they stood they hadn't failed. Each of them had solemn expressions on their faces, looking at me intently.

"FREDDIE!" Sam said, getting off the hospital bed to run to him. "Where were you? You're late, I thought..." she was cut off by Freddie pressing his lips against hers, kissing her deeply. He broke the kiss, their foreheads touching.

"I'm sorry I'm late baby," he said, running his hands through her hair. He kissed her the top of her head. "What's all this about me changing my mind?"

She frowned. "I thought that..."

"Are you kidding? I could never in a million years be anything but absolutely crazy about you."

"But...why were you late?"

"I had to go the grocery store. We haven't bothered with putting food in the house much since you've been in here...I didn't want you to come home to an empty fridge." he responded, kissing her again. "You ready?"

"Are you kidding?" Sam cried. "Get me out of this place!" I watched as Freddie and Gibby picked up Sam's bags before they and Sam exited the room, Freddie intertwining his fingers with Sam's. I looked at Spencer and Brad.

"Well?" I asked. Brad nodded.

"Come on, we gotta go. Part two." he said, taking my hand in his. We walked down the hallway in the opposite direction from Freddie, Gibby, and Sam, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest.

"So...there's like no way..."

"Nope." Spencer responded as we reached the staircase and began descending down it.

"But, we're carrying all this stuff...what if we get pulled over?"

"We're in my dad's jurisdiction. All of the beat cops are aware of the situation. They've been told to leave the car alone," Brad said as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Spencer pushed open the door and I squinted as the bright sunlight hit my face. We walked to the car which was parked just outside the door.

"Ready?" Brad asked me as he opened the passenger door to his dad's Mustang.

"I guess so," I responded, climbing in and hopping into the back seat. Spencer got in the front and Brad slammed the door shut, walking around to the driver's side and hopping in. He started the engine and backed out of the parking spot. I crossed my fingers and prayed a silent prayer as we drove out of the parking lot.

It was a twenty minute drive to the trailer park where Sam's mother and Stupid Bastard Bill resided. I scanned the entire area for signs of Pam Puckett's car, finding nothing. Brad parked the car on the side of Pam's trailer, right next to the window of the master bedroom.

"Hand me the crowbar," he said, looking over his shoulder. I obediently reached down and handed Brad the thick iron rod. and he and Spencer opened their doors, climbing out. I climbed out behind Spencer, shutting the door.

"Keys," I said, holding my hand out so Brad could toss them to me. I caught them, and walked around to the trunk, popping it open as Brad climbed onto the hood of his car. I looked down, gaping, my eyes big as saucers.

Okay, I had known what we were going to do, way ahead of time, but I still wasn't prepared to actually look down and see all of that stuff. I had never seen a drug before in my life, and now I was looking at bags upon bags, pounds upon pounds. There were pills, white powders,brown powders, something green I was guessing was pot...all marked "Evidence, Seattle Police Department."

"Holy shit," I breathed, looking up at Spencer.

"Got it!" Brad said, as he lifted the window open, dropping the crowbar onto the ground. "Carly, you're up, babe."

I got on top of the car next to Brad and he held both of his hands down, his fingers interlaced. I placed my foot in his hands, grabbing onto the windowsill as he lifted me up. I quickly climbed in and then darted through the house to the front door, swiftly unlocking it. I ran out, back to the car.

"Let's go," I said, and we began carrying all the bags into the dirty trailer, stashing them in cabinets, closets, under the bed in the master bedroom, every place we could think of, except the liquor cabinet. That was the only place Sam's stupid mother would regularly visit, that and the couch. We'd managed to successfully stash over twenty pounds of police evidence in the trailer before Brad retreated to the master bedroom to shut the window. I waited for him to walk back into the living room and I stared him down. He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed me, trying to reassure me. I looked up at him and managed a small smile as I let out a shaky breath.

"Okay. Let's get out of here." We walked to the front door, and I reached behind me to twist the lock shut before shutting the door behind me, the three of us walking back to the car and getting in. Brad pulled out of the trailer park and picked up his cell phone.

"Hey Dad. Yeah, it's done. Okay, we're going back to Bushwell right now. Right. Yeah. No, I know. We'll be across the hall. Yep." He paused. "Okay, hold on." He handed the phone to me.

"Hey Mr. Harrison," I said.

"Hello, Carly! I just wanted to check with you to make sure everything is set."

"Uh-huh. Everything's in place. I spoke with Colonel Morgan, we're looking at around 5 PM or so tomorrow..."

"Great, great. So everything will be fine, just remember, you need to get down there tonight as soon as possible."

"I know. Thanks so much, Mr. Harrison," I said.

"You're welcome Carly, I'm glad to help. You can give the phone back to Brad now."

"Okay. Bye," I responded, handing the phone to Brad so he could finish the conversation.

"Hey," he said. "Yep. Uh huh. I understand completely. I'll call you when we're there. Okay. Bye." He hung up, and his head turned to look at Spencer.

"Okay." he said. "The warrants have been issued." Spencer nodded.

I breathed a deep sigh as I stretched out across the back seat, trying to steady myself. We weren't done yet, and things were only going to get more intense.


	25. Chapter 25: From Us to You

**Chapter Twenty Five:  
><strong>**From Us to You**

~*Sam*~

"Sam, aren't you full yet?" Freddie asked me. I shook my head.

"Is there any more bacon?" I asked, looking up at him. Freddie laughed and sat down next to me, kissing me lightly on the forehead.

"Nah, baby, you cleaned that out like an hour ago," he responded. I looked over at him.

"I'm so glad I'm home," I said, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Me too, baby."

My hand moved to his thigh, squeezing it briefly, causing him to turn his head and look down at me.

"Sam," he warned.

"Sorry," I said, continuing to absentmindedly run my hand up and down his leg. His hand covered mine, holding it still.

"Please, just wait...til the cast is off...any little thing could get me riled up right now," he said.

"I'm trying," I whined. "It's as hard for me as it is for you..." He picked my hand up and kissed it gently.

"I know, baby...just a few more weeks, and then..." his mouth moved to my ear as he began whispering in a low voice all the dirty things he was going to do to me. I shifted in my seat a little bit as I felt a tingling between my legs. Christ, him just talking about it was enough to make me explode. This would be the longest three weeks of my life.

Knock Knock! I was pulled out of my trance by a loud knocking at the door.

"Hold that thought," he said, getting up to answer the door. Uh, how could I not? It was all I had been thinking about for a weeks!

Freddie unlocked the door and opened it. "Hey guys!" I craned my neck to see Spencer and Gibby walking in.

"Hey Sam!" Gibby greeted me. I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hey guys..." I trailed off. Okay, I was happy to see the guys, they'd been great about visiting me in the hospital, but I really wanted to spend alone time with Freddie without nurses or visitors walking in on us every ten minutes. "So what's up?"

Spencer sat down in an armchair, and Gibby settled down on one of the barstools.

"Nothing," Spencer shrugged. "Just thought we'd come over and see how you were doing."

"I'm good," I said awkwardly, shooting a look at Freddie. I was trying extremely hard not to get irritable. Everyone had been so supportive, completely amazing. But I'd had to deal with so many people over the last few weeks, asking questions, doing tests, poking me, prodding me. I just wanted to be alone with my husband! Everyone was silent, and I knew something was up. Freddie came and sat down next to me, holding my hand, a little bit harder than normally. I looked at his right leg, which was bouncing up and down, the way it only did when he was nervous. Something was going on!

I was just about to ask Freddie what on earth they were up to, when a loud, banging knock rang through the apartment. I jumped to my feet fearfully, wincing as I felt a sharp pain through my ribs. Freddie wrapped an arm around me from behind. "It's okay," he murmured in my ear. "I love you..." He let go of me and walked towards the door, quickly unlocking it and pulling it open. My stomach flip-flopped as my eyes focused on the three police officers standing at our front door.

"Fredward Benson?"

"Yeah." Freddie's arms crossed across his chest. One of the cops put a hand to his chest, sending him a few steps backward.

"You're under arrest."

My eyes widened as I watched the cop spin Freddie around, shoving him into the wall and cuffing his arms behind his back. "Freddie!" I started to hurry over, but Spencer pulled me back.

"Sam, don't," he said.

"Spencer!" I cried. "What the hell is going on?"

"This must be Spencer Shay and...Gibby...Gibson...?" one of the other cops looked down at the notebook he was holding and made a face.

"Hey! I didn't pick my own name!" Gibby hollered.

"You're both under arrest as well," the officer said, turning Gibby around to cuff him. The third officer advanced towards Spencer and Spencer simply turned around and let him restrain him. I was horrified.

"What is going on?" I cried. "Freddie, what did you do?"

"I took care of some things," Freddie responded. We locked eyes and I knew exactly what he had done. No, no. I had just gotten my Freddie back, I couldn't lose him again! That stupid, beautiful nerd! What had he done?

"What's his charge?" I asked the officer who had cuffed Gibby, struggling to keep my voice was wavering.

"Assault on a police officer," he responded. "All three of them." My eyebrows went up. Freddie, Spencer, and GIBBY assaulted Bill? I was shocked. It was out of character for all three of them!

Assault was not a murder charge. But they weren't out of the clear yet. I didn't know how bad it was, but if Bill was in critical condition and happened to die, they'd be put away for life.

The officer I had spoken to gave me copies of the three arrest warrants. "You can call to find out how much their bail is, and then come and bail them out."

"Oh yeah, I'll be right down," I spat, gesturing to my broken arm and looking at the cop like he was a total idiot. The cop surprised me by giving me a sympathetic look, and what he said surprised me even more.

"It'll be okay."

I shot a look at Freddie. "Okay? How is this okay?"

"Baby, relax," Freddie said. "I promise you everything's going to work out."

"We need to go, sir."

"WAIT!" I yelled, rushing over to Freddie, who was cuffed and being held by his forearms by the police officer. I glared at him before kissing Freddie passionately. "I love you," I breathed. "So fucking much."

"I love you too, don't worry baby." Ha. Easier said than done. I looked at Gibby and Spencer as thoughts swirled around in my head. They were all being arrested, which meant they all played a part in whatever transpired. Even GIBBY. That was why they had all shown up at the same time at the hospital. THAT was why Freddie was late.

"Guys..." I said. "I..."

"It's cool, Sam," Gibby said as the police officer began hauling him out of the room.

"Thanks..." I said awkwardly.

"See you later, Sam," Spencer said with a silly grin.

"Spencer, I owe you so much..." I trailed off, watching the police taking my husband away from me.

Spencer nodded. "You're not the only bad-ass around here. Peace out homey!"

I followed the police to the door, watching them walk the love of my life and my two friends towards the elevator.

"Don't drop the soap, Gibs!" I called.

He looked at me with a horrified expression on his face. "They don't have liquid soap?"

~*Carly*~

Brad and I been waiting by the front door for fifteen minutes for everything to be finished, our ears pressed against it like two kids eavesdropping on their parents. I heard Sam yelling down the hall and swiftly opened it, grabbing her by her good arm and yanking her in the apartment.

"FREDDIE JUST GOT ARRESTED!" She shrieked, panicking. "Oh my god! What do I? What do I?"

"Calm down, for starters, Sam," Brad said. "Have a seat."

"Calm down? Fuck you, I can't calm down! Did you hear me? He got arrested for assault on a police officer! Do you have any idea what happens to people who assault police officers?"

"Yeah," Brad responded. "I do. Now sit down."

Sam glared at him before a look of shock crossed her face. "You were there," she stated.

"Yep." Brad's eyes skidded over to mine and we locked eyes for a moment, both of us trying to figure out how to explain what went down.

Sam sat down on the couch and looked at both of us expectantly. "So how come you didn't get arrested with them?"

"Because of who Brad's father is," I replied.

"What the hell? Pretty boy over here gets special treatment? THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Sam hollered.

"Sam, shut up!" I snapped. "Do you want to know what's going on or do you want to just keep yelling?"

Sam glared at me. "Fine. Start talking."

"Did you know my dad is a police officer, Sam?" Brad asked, sitting down on the other side of the couch. Sam shook her head, finally quiet.

"He's a detective. When you got put in the hospital, I called him, and asked him to find out info on who put you in there. Well, he found out." Brad paused. "Bill's his partner, and when he found out he went nuts. We don't put up with that shit in my family. As soon as I my dad figured it out, we started working on a plan. So today Freddie, Spencer, Gibby and I waited for them to do their rounds, my dad staged a fake complaint, and Spencer led Bill into the ravine."

Sam's eyes widened, and so did mine. I knew a little bit, but I still hadn't gotten a play-by-play description on what they did to the bastard.

"We didn't kill him," Brad reassured her. "He's in the ICU. Right now."

"What did you guys..." Sam trailed off as Brad interrupted.

"I dislocated his shoulders with Freddie's belt and then we took turns beating the shit out of him with a baseball bat," Brad responded. "Even Gibby got a few good swings in. Well, before Freddie just lost it and started kicking the piece of shit. Made good use of his cigarettes too. And uh...well...Freddie made sure he'd never be able to have children, much less get an erection." His eyes slid over to me, taking in the shocked expression on my face.

"Oh my god!" Sam blurted out. "But...Freddie's not a violent person..."

I reached out to touch Sam's leg. "Freddie loves you more than anything. He wanted to do more than just beat him. Seeing you the way you were, it pulled something really...bad...out of all of us."

"All of you?" she questioned.

"Um, Brad's dad may have cleared out the evidence room for us...and we may have put it in the trailer. After Freddie and Gibby took you back to the apartment," I responded, looking down as I played with my hair.

"Do you know what happens to cops who steal drug crime evidence? Bad things," Brad added.

"Wait..." she trailed off. "So that means..."

"Freddie's gonna get off. They all will," Brad said. "The entire precinct is pretty much in on this. A warrant wasn't issued for me because we didn't want to tip off Internal Affairs. I didn't want to implicate my dad in all this."

Sam was in shock. "Holy shit..."

"We're not done yet, Sam," I shook my head fervently. "When you were in surgery I made a few calls of my own." Sam looked at me, confused.

"My dad's a Colonel in the Air Force, remember?" I responded.

"So what are you gonna do?" she asked.

"It's a surprise. You'll find out tomorrow," Brad replied. "I'll let you know how it goes, but...you'll see it on the news."

We were interrupted by a knock at my front door, and I hopped off the couch walking over to the door and pulling it open.

"Hey Mrs. Benson," I said, giving her a smile.

"Hello, Carly!" she said, walking in. "Sam, are you okay?"

"Um...Marissa..." Sam trailed off, obviously not sure how to tell her that Freddie had just been hauled off to jail.

"I'm almost ready," I said, grabbing my coat.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked.

"To bail the boys out," Mrs. Benson responded simply. "Brad, I've got Sam's medication here, she shouldn't need any more of the morphine before we get back, but if her ribs start hurting you can give her one of these hydrocodone pills, and..."

"Wait wait wait!" Sam cried. "You knew about this too? I was the only one who DIDN'T know?"

"Well we didn't want to upset you, honey!" Mrs. Benson said, walking over to give her a hug. "We'll be back soon." She handed a small bottle of pills to Brad, who got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Brad's gonna stay with you, Sam, okay?" I asked. "We have to keep both of you out of this as much as possible."

"No way! I want to go!" Sam hollered, standing up. "You can't just leave me with..."

"Sam..." Brad called in a sing-song voice, and Sam looked over to see him waving a tupperware box back and forth. "I've got fudge!"

Sam looked at me and her mother-in-law, then at the fudge Brad was holding, before walking over and yanking the box out of his hands, pulling the top off of it and shoving a piece of fudge in her mouth.

"Hurry back," she said.

~*Freddie*~

I leaned against the wall next to the front counter of the police department, still handcuffed, next to Spencer, also handcuffed. I was absolutely exhausted.

"Okay, now, sign this," the officer on desk duty said as she slid a few papers across the counter to my mom. My mom signed them quickly, handing them back to her.

"Now the 'court date' is right here, but...you know." The officer made air quotes with her fingers, and my mother simply smiled at her. As they continued talking, I nudged Spencer with my shoulder.

"Remind me to never get arrested again," I grunted.

"I dunno, I thought the guy with the latex glove was pretty gentle," Spencer said absentmindedly. I groaned.

Definitely not the best way to spend a Friday night, but it had been a pretty quick ordeal. Pretty much as soon as we'd been processed, Carly and my mom had shown up with the bail money, assuring me that Sam was safe with Brad in Carly's apartment.

"Can someone get these cuffs OFF ME?" I hollered. I was getting a cramp in my arm. The dispatcher got up with a set of keys, and quickly unlocked the cuffs off Spencer, then me. I groaned in relief, stretching my arms out.

"You should really learn to be more patient, sir," he said to me. I refrained from rolling my eyes. The entire precinct had stepped up to make sure Bill had gotten what was coming to him, but they still had a tendency to be rather snippy with me. I didn't know if it was for appearances sake or if they were just always like that, but I didn't give it much thought, I just wanted to get back to Sam. I didn't know if she would yell at me, or be grateful, or both, but I didn't care.

"Ready?" my mom asked me. I nodded, but another thought crossed my mind.

"Wait, where's..."

"Bye guys!" I looked up to see Gibby strolling down the hallway, holding a cup of a coffee and a donut, lifting the hand with the donut in it to wave as he turned around to give his farewells to a group of about six officers. "I'll come back and visit!"

"You da man, Gibby!" one of them yelled.

"Nah, Burkowitz, YOU da man!" he said back.

"Hey man, watch them nerds!" another one yelled, gesturing at me and Spencer. We gave each other looks of shock.

"What the hell, Gibby?" I asked. "So we were in there in a holding cell for two hours...after being cavity searched...and you're just..hanging out?"

"Yeah, well, they recognized me from the Old Spice spoof on iCarly," Gibby responded, sipping his coffee nonchalantly.

"But I'm on iCarly too!" I said. "What..."

Gibby shrugged. "They said you're too uppity."

"I am not uppity!" I hollered.

"I don't know man, you are pretty uppity," Spencer offered.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Carly put her hand on my chest.

"Can we go now? Sam's going to run out of meds and fudge very soon, I don't want her to kill Brad."

I nodded. "That's an excellent point. Mom, can we go?"

"Sure thing, honey. Come on boys," my mom said to Gibby and Spencer. Spencer and Carly followed us out with Gibby shortly behind us. He turned at waved at the female police officer at the counter.

"Bye Suzette!" he lifted his hand to the side of his head, his thumb poised at his ear and pinky at his mouth like a telephone. 'Call me' he mouthed.

"GIBBY!" We all yelled.


	26. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

**A/N: Thanks for all the UH-MAZING reviews! I love u guys! Gets a little bit rough in this chapter (I know, you're like, "compared to the last two?") but I think it wraps up quite nicely! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty Six:  
><strong>**The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill**

~*Spencer*~

"I'll see you boys later!" Marissa called to us as we arrived outside the door of mine and Carly's apartment, Marissa going to her own front door to unlock it. "Freddie, bring Sam over in a few minutes so I can give her her morphine, okay?"

"Sure thing, mom," Freddie replied, leaning against the wall waiting for me to unlock the door.

"God, what a night...what a day..." Carly commented.

"Yeah, no shit. I still think I should have stayed and hung out..." Gibby said.

"Gibby that chick was like twice your age," Freddie commented. "And rude."

"You just don't know how to deal with older women, Fred," Gibby replied. I rolled my eyes, opening the door.

"Hey guys, we're back!" I called as we walked in. "Jail break!"

"Freddie!" Sam ran out of the kitchen to him, wrapping her good arm around him and kissing him.

"Hey baby," he said when their lips separated.

"You're absolutely insane, do you know that?" she scolded him, kissing him. "You're so stupid!" Another kiss. "And you don't think things through!" Kiss. "How could you do something so dumb..." Kiss. "FOR ME?"

Freddie grinned at her. "Because I love you. It was worth it."

"Cavity searches are never worth it, Benson," I grumbled, flopping down on the couch. They ignored me, and I watched Sam gasp as if remembering something, her hand clamping on Freddie's bicep.

"Look! Brad and I made you something!" she said excitedly, leading him towards the kitchen. "Brad, show them!"

"Ta-da!" Brad said, sitting out a platter of cupcakes. Carly started to laugh.

"They have metal nail files in them!" she giggled. "Awww..."

Freddie rolled his eyes, laughing. "You guys are such assholes." I watched Sam look at the bowl of spare frosting, then at Freddie, but Carly caught on, jerking the bowl away from her.

"Bad Sam! You don't put frosting on Freddie!"

"Maybe YOU don't," Sam said pointedly.

"Don't rile him up!" Carly scolded. "You still have to wait until the cast is off until...you know. You guys start doing that stuff again..." She trailed off, her head shaking slightly, as if trying to get the mental picture of Sam and Freddie out of her head. It wasn't something I really cared to think about either.

"S'okay, baby. In a few weeks, we'll..." Freddie pushed Sam's hair aside and began speaking to her in a low voice, Sam's cheeks beginning to flush.

"Alright, knock it off!" I yelled. "We need to go over what's going to happen tomorrow!"

"Okay," Brad said, grabbing a cupcake off the platter, walking it over to me. "Cupcake? It has a PINK nail file in it..." he teased. I jerked the cupcake out of his hand, glaring at him before stuffing my face with it. I was STARVING.

Brad plopped down at the other end of the couch and Carly came and sat down next to him. "Okay, so I've been talking to Colonel Morgan pretty much every day since we started working on this, and..."

"Who's Colonel Morgan again?" Gibby asked between mouthfuls of cupcake. "OWWW!"

"Gibby, take the file out first, you dumb ass!" Brad said, rolling his eyes.

"He's my dad's best friend. My dad was able to get the info for me, but that's all he could do, he can only call in under absolute emergencies," Carly responded. "Okay, so Bill's in the ICU right now, right?"

"That's an understatement," Freddie scoffed.

"Okay. Well, as soon as your mom gets a room number for us, my dad's gonna go in there with his men, and Colonel Morgan's gonna go in there with his," Brad spoke.

"Brad and I are gonna go, we'll stay out of sight, but somebody has to make sure it all goes down right," Carly said.

"How come I can't go?" Gibby asked.

"You can't go on a mission with the cops who just arrested you, Gibs," I responded.

"But they like me!" Gibby shot back.

"Nobody who went to jail tonight goes," Carly said rudely. "If one person shows up at the wrong time, this is gonna fall apart, and you, me, everyone else in this room, and me, Brad, and Freddie's parents all go to jail too. We don't want that, do we Gibby?"

Gibby shook his head, grunting. "No, I guess not."

"What about me?" We all turned to look at Sam.

"Baby, I don't think that's a good idea..." Freddie trailed off. "I don't think you could handle seeing him again..."

"I could if I got to shoot him. Or slit his throat." My eyes got big and I realized all of us were gaping at Sam. She was a feisty girl who liked to throw out threats, but no one had ever heard her threaten to slice someone's throat open.

"Sam, it doesn't work like that," Freddie said quietly. "We've had this planned out for almost a month. Just trust us."

"Look, you got your revenge, I want MINE," she said forcefully, staring Freddie down. "I've been thinking about two things for three weeks now. Fucking you and killing him."

"Sam! Jesus Christ!" Carly scolded. "You don't have to be so blunt! We have something better than that planned for Bill."

"What could be better than death?" Sam asked. "Let me ask you something, Freddie."

Freddie looked at her nervously. "What's that?"

"Did you break his ribs?"

"Every single one of them," he responded firmly. "What else do you want to know?"

"Did you break his cheekbone?"

"He did with a fucking bat, Sam!" I hollered. "What are you getting at?"

Sam glared at me. "Did he fucking flatline out there? Did he have to be brought back to life? BECAUSE I DID! TWICE! He almost fucking killed me...he DID kill me! And you're telling me that I shouldn't kill him? Fuck you, Spencer! Give me a reason why!"

"Because he's gonna be getting butt-raped in prison every day for the rest of his life, that's why!" Brad yelled. "You want to know every single little detail of went out there?"

"Yeah, I DO!" Sam yelled. Freddie's hand went to her left shoulder, pulling her back gently.

"Baby, calm down," he said. "I promise you he got it way worse than you did..."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?" She yelled. "HOW!"

"Because I made sure of it, Sam! I made sure the bastard could NEVER hurt another person for the rest of his life! His arms are broken, his ribs are broken...I..." Freddie trailed off. "I don't want to talk about what I did, okay? I turned into a different person in that ravine."

"I turned into a different person laying on our apartment floor, DYING, Freddie! I want to get even with him!" Sam screamed. "I want a PART OF IT! I don't want to be just a bystander! I don't want to be a fucking VICTIM anymore!" She started to cry. "I'm not fucking strong anymore, and it kills me!"

"Let me be strong for you," Freddie responded, reaching for her, frowning when she jerked away. He was silent for a moment. "Carly."

"Yeah?"

"Go across the hall, bring my mom in here."

"Why?"

"JUST DO IT!"

Carly jumped up, and so did Brad.

"Don't yell at her, dude."

"This is fucking important!" Freddie hollered. His voice dropped a decibel, calming himself. "Sorry. We're gonna need the car, Brad."

Brad looked confused. "Why? What are we doing?"

"Just go downstairs and get the keys from your dad, please," Freddie replied.

"Dude, what about the plan?" Gibby asked.

"Oh, the plan stays. We're just adding another step," Freddie responded.

"What are we doing, Freddie?" Sam asked as she watched him pace back and forth.

"Getting you your revenge," Freddie replied.

"Wait, if you're gonna let me do that, how are..."

"I didn't say I was going to let you kill him, Sam. There are worse things we can do," Freddie responded. "Carly, please go get my mom, tell her to bring Sam's meds, because she's gonna need it."

"Okay," Carly and Brad began walking to the door.

"Freddie, what are you up to?" I asked.

He looked at me. "I think you know exactly what I'm up to."

"We're taking this too far," I warned him, but he simply shook his head at me.

"No. This is what Sam wants. I'm giving it to her," he growled before turning to his wife. "Come here, we need to talk. Alone."

~*Freddie*~

Sam, Brad, and I crept down the ICU ward slowly. It was three AM, and the ward was completely dark. After tonight I never wanted to come back here again. Part of me KNEW we were going too far, but after tomorrow, everything would be finished, and we could go back to our lives.

I had gotten my revenge on Bill for hurting Sam, but she was still hurt inside, and she wasn't going to get better until she did this. At least I had managed to talk her out of killing him. That was the last thing I wanted, for two reasons. I didn't want Sam to become THAT person, and I felt like it would be a mercy killing. We weren't through with Bill yet. He was going to suffer, for the rest of his life.

We approached a restricted area, THE restricted area. The area of the hospital you could go to federal prison for busting in. It was where the nurses kept emergency medication so they wouldn't have to go all the way to the pharmacy in another part of the hospital. I handed Brad a key that my mother had given me before nodding at him.

"Go with him," I said to Sam, kissing her softly. "I'm going to keep watch."

"Okay," she said softly, following Brad into the room. I stood outside the door for a good two minutes, getting nervous. They were taking too long. I tapped on the door once, just so they could hear me. A few moments later, the door opened and Brad and Sam came back out.

"Is this right?" Brad asked me, holding up a small bottle. I looked at the label.

"Desoxyn," I responded. "That's the one. Let's go." I took Sam's hand and we continued to walk down the ICU ward. I looked at Brad. "You know what to do."

He nodded before taking off down the hall. As soon as he turned the corner, I heard him start singing at the top of his lungs.

"I'VE GOT A LOVELY BUNCH OF COCONUTS, DEEDLY DEE DEEEEEEEE..." I grimaced. He could have picked a better song. Sam gave me a strange look.

"Okay, here we go," I said as we stopped outside room 315, opening the door quietly, letting Sam inside first. She leaned against the wall and watched me intently as I pulled a syringe from my pocket and stuck it into the top of the Desoxyn bottle. I handed her the syringe carefully.

"Don't poke yourself. If that shit gets in your system it's gonna cancel out all your painkillers at one time," I whispered.

"Is that what's gonna happen to him?" she whispered back. I watched her eyes go dark, like she was remembering how much pain she had been in right after she had been attacked.

"Yes," I replied stoically. "His ribs are all broken, his face. His balls. It takes 12 hours for this to wear off."

Her jaw dropped. "He's going to want to die," she whispered.

"But he won't," I replied. She looked at me, silent. "I told you there are things worse than death, Sam." I nudged her towards the hospital bed he was laying in, completely out of it and unconscious. She stood still for a moment, staring at him. I could see her draw a shaky breath as she reached up, inserting the syringe into the entry point of the IV bag. She pushed down on the plunger and took a few steps back, waiting.

Within seconds, Bill's eyes popped open, screaming. He began convulsing as all the pain he had felt in the ravine suddenly came back to him. He jerked, trying to sit up, continuing to scream.

"Hurry, Sam!" I called. She looked at me before reaching down to grab Bill's chin.

"REMEMBER ME?" She yelling. "Do you?"

More screams of agony.

"My husband fucked you up REAL BAD didn't he? Well it's not fucking over! You're gonna feel all of it, feel what you PUT ME THROUGH!" Her grip changed from his chin to his throat, lifting his head off his pillow by it.

He wouldn't stop screaming and twitching.

"Sam," I warned.

"Fucking with me was the biggest mistake you ever could have made, LITTLE BITCH!" she hollered, before letting go of his throat and slamming her fist into his ribs.

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

She turned around and walked away from him. "Let's go baby." She stopped, and turned around sharply.

"You know something, Bill? I think you're enjoying this," she said in a taunting voice that made my stomach turn because I realized he had probably said the same thing to her.

The only thing we could hear were the sounds of Bill's screams as agony as we walked down the dark, empty hospital ward.

We walked out of the hospital and through the parking lot to find Brad leaning against the driver's side of the Mustang. "They didn't catch you?"

"Nah, man. I'm like Forrest Gump. I...was...RUN-NING." He said in an exaggerated Southern accent. I didn't laugh, just turned to Sam.

"Are you happy now?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not happy about this. But I'm satisfied."

"That's good enough for me," I responded. She grabbed the back of my head, jerking my head down to kiss me fiercely.

"I fucking love you. Nobody on earth would do the stupid shit you've done for me," she said, never breaking eye contact. "You are everything to me. I will live, and die for you. And nothing will EVER take that away from me."

I didn't respond, just kissed her even harder than she had kissed me, ignoring Brad's complaints.

~*Carly*~

The Next Day...

"What time is it?" I asked breathlessly, pacing across the floor anxiously.

"He'll be here, don't worry," Spencer reassured me.

"Brad's dad and his men are ready to go...if Colonel Morgan doesn't get here now, I swear to god..." I complained.

"Calm down, Carly," Freddie said, looking up from where he was sitting with Sam.

"I can't calm down! I want to get this over and done with, Freddie! I don't like living like this!"

"None of us do," he responded. "We didn't cause the situation, we're dealing with it!"

"Remember, after today..." Spencer began.

"...we never speak of it again. I know," I responded softly. "I just feel like...I don't know...we've broken laws and abused connections, and..."

"Because of this!" Freddie yelled, pointing at Sam's cast and gesturing to her ribcage. "Do you think we're wrong for doing it? Are you feeling guilty for getting even with him? Do you think Sam's the first girl he's ever done this to?"

I was silent.

"Freddie's right," Spencer said, reaching out to grab my shoulder. "We're keeping this from happening to other girls. Think about that, Carls."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. I heard a knock at the front door, and I ran to it, flinging it open. "Colonel Morgan!" I cried. "Come in, come in!"

"Good afternoon, Carly. Sorry I'm a bit late."

"Is everything ready to go?" I asked.

"It is. They're just waiting outside the hospital." Colonel Morgan responded. He looked around me to Freddie and Sam who were sitting on the sofa, just staring at him. "Is this the girl?"

"Yes," I responded. "This is Sam."

Colonel Morgan walked across my living room and extended his hand. "Sam, it's nice to meet you."

"Hi," she said. "So you're going to be helping us?"

"That's right. After today, you won't see this Bill again. No one will."

Sam looked at me. "You guys still haven't told me what you're doing!"

I grinned. "Oh it's good. It's really good."

"Then just tell me!"

"Sam, it's a surprise. But Carly's dad found something out about Bill. Something big. It has nothing to do with what happened to you at all," Freddie replied. Colonel Morgan nodded, then turned to me.

"It's time to go, Carly," he said. "Are you ready for this?"

"I am," I responded. "Wish us luck, guys!"

"Oh, you won't be needing luck, Carly. We have the military backing you up now," Colonel Morgan responded. "She'll be back soon. It was nice meeting you two. Best of luck in your marriage." He saluted Freddie and Sam briefly before we walked out of my apartment and headed for the elevators.

"I can't believe this is happening," I said as I pressed the 'down' button. "I mean...it just fell into place too perfectly."

"We don't take too kindly to this sort of thing, Carly. Not just what happened to Sam."

I nodded. "I know. Let's do this."

~*Brad*~

I sat in the parking lot with my dad, waiting around with seven of his men, along with the detail of nine Air Force soldiers dispatched by Colonel Morgan.

"Almost over, son," my dad said, his hand going to my shoulder. I nodded.

"So...he's all hopped up on pain meds now, so he's not gonna be too distracted by agony. Not physical agony anyway," I mused.

"Man, that's a tough thing to deal. Desoxyn with broken bones..." my dad shuddered. "Where's Carly?"

"She should be here any..." I trailed off as I saw a car pull up and pointed. "There."

The car parked, and I watched Carly get out of the passenger's side, followed by Colonel Morgan.

"Hey babe," I said, walking over to her, kissing her briefly. She kissed me back, holding my hand.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

"You have no idea. I want to get back to normal," I replied. "I never want to have to dislocate someone's shoulders again, that's for sure."

"Well, let's hope not," she replied. "Colonel Morgan, this is Brad, and his father, Detective Harrison."

"Brad, Detective." I watched my dad shake hands with the high-ranking Air Force Officer.

"It's nice to meet you," my dad responded, before turning to his men. "Alright, guys, this is how it's going to go..."

As Dad and Colonel Morgan began giving orders, I turned to Carly. "So, after all this done, you wanna go to the pool hall? I think you could use another lesson," I teased, grabbing both of her hands and swinging them back and forth.

"Yeah, definitely," she smiled at me. "Maybe we can get some sushi, and I'll try an octopi arm."

"Leg," I corrected her.

"Whatever," she responded with a grin before kissing me on the cheek.

"OKAY, PEOPLE! LET'S MOVE!" My dad yelled.

Carly and I walked behind the military and police officers as they entered through the main entrance, heading up the stairs to the ICU ward. My heart was pounding the entire time, and I knew Carly's was too. I held her hand the whole time, trying to calm her.

We reached room 315 and Carly and I stood outside the door, each of us on one side of it. My dad gave me a nod before opening the door and walking inside with his men.

"Hello, Bill!" I heard him say in an upbeat voice. "Heard you had a rough night last night..."

"Fuck you..." I heard Bill respond in a shaky voice, and I smirked.

"No thanks, I'm good. Got something I want to talk to you about, though. See, we had some evidence missing down at the precinct, so I sent some men to check it out."

"What are you playing at, Richard?" I heard Bill gruff.

"We found it. In your trailer. What were you doing, selling the shit? We couldn't find the meth, but you'll be tested for it, so...I'm sure things will come into the clear."

My eyes widened as I realized what Freddie's MOTHER had done. She'd told us specifically to go after the Desoxyn, which was the medical name for crystal meth. Not only did it block the painkillers for an entire 12 hours, but when they tested him he would come up positive for meth. I grinned. This was too good.

I couldn't believe the way the adults had stepped up. We'd came up with the plan, sure, and carried out the nastier elements of it, but it was my father, Carly's father, Spencer, Freddie's mom, that had told us exactly how to get away with it, which steps to take. We lived in world where this sort of thing happened way too often, and the sick bastards who did it got away with it too often. Just eliminating one sick bastard was worth crossing every moral and boundary known to man. Our parents all understood that. I think the way they looked at it, if someone as tough as Sam could be this destroyed, any one of us were subject to it. We refused to tolerate it.

"You planted that shit!" I heard Bill hiss, and then heard my dad chuckle.

"Oh no, Bill. I wouldn't have had the time. You see, I was dealing with something else at the precinct yesterday." He raised his voice. "Colonel Morgan, could you come in here?"

Colonel Morgan walked past Carly and I, giving Carly a pat on the top of her head.

"Hello, Bill!" Colonel Morgan said. "Wait, I'm sorry. According to these records, it's Harold. Harold Burrows."

I didn't hear anything from Bill, and I was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. I looked at Carly, who gave me a look that basically read "fuck it" and we both stuck our heads in the door, dying to get a good view at what was happening.

Bill was white as a sheet. It may have been from pain or blood loss, but I suspected it was from something else. Colonel Morgan continued.

"You may remember a little thing we had to deal with back in the 70's. Called the Vietnam War?" he said. When Bill didn't speak, he continued. "I'm sure you remembered the draft. We had a big problem with people running from that, like cowards. So let me ask you something," he said. I watched Colonel Morgan lean over Bill's bed. Or Harold's bed. Whatever.

"You have the balls to beat up a teenage girl, but not to go war. How does that work? It's the opposite for me."

My dad laughed. "As I recall, he doesn't have balls anymore, not much anyway."

"FUCK YOU!" Bill yelled. Colonel Morgan straightened up, taking a few steps back and motioning to one of his soldiers, who moved forward, pushing a wheelchair.

"We're gonna be moving you, Harold. To the hospital ward at the brig. The drugs aren't as good there, but I'm sure you'll be fine," Colonel Morgan said.

"By the way, you're being charged with theft of police evidence, drug possession, and twenty counts of sales of an elicit substance," my dad said. I saw him turn around, and Carly and I both ducked back outside the door. He walked back out, placing his keys in my hand.

"Time for you to leave," he said, looking at me. "We've got it from here. It's done."

"Thanks dad," I said, giving him a brief hug. Carly wasn't satisfied with a brief hug, she threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks so much Mr. Harrison. I'm sure Sam's gonna be really grateful, too. And Freddie." she said.

"Not a problem, Carly. You kids have fun," he said, before going back inside the room and shutting the door. I turned to Carly.

"Come on, babe. Let's get you some octopusses."

"Octopi."

"Whatever."


	27. Chapter 27: It Won't Be Long

**Chapter Twenty Seven:**  
><strong>It Won't Be Long<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"Okay! Let's go! In five, four, three, two..."

"What's up? I'm Carly!"

"And I'm Gibby!"

"And I'm baaaaaack!" Sam yelled as she jumped into frame. I grinned as I watched Sam shove Gibby out of the frame. "I'm Sam, this is my cast, and..."

"THIS IS ICARLY!" She and Carly hollered together, bouncing around.

"Okay, so it's been a long three weeks without Sam here, and we've been making due with the Gibster, but we're back on track, people! We were having technical difficulties last week, so no webcast, but here we are now, right on schedule!" Carly announced. "If you'll remember, Sam was in the hospital after a really bad car accident, but she pulled through!"

"Yeah, the idea of Gibby taking my place brought me back from the dead," Sam complained.

"But no worries, Gibby's not unemployed!" Carly said. "We have an exciting new addition to iCarly!"

"I don't wanna do it!" Gibby hollered off-screen.

"Too bad, nub!" Sam yelled. "Carly and I are pleased to present our iCarly house dancer!"

I panned the camera over to the electric pink pole Gibby was holding onto, looking less than pleased.

"I don't wanna!" he whined.

"Dance monkey dance!" Carly said, jumping up and down.

"Yeah, or I'll beat you with my cast!"

Gibby groaned as loud techno music began pumping through the speakers and began dancing half-heartedly.

I turned the camera to face me. "Normally you're supposed to throw dollar bills at pole-dancers, but we spent all of our money on Sam's hospital bills and emergency bacon. So we've got some fish instead."

"Make with ze feesh!" Carly yelled in a horrible French accent as she and Sam began chucking fish at Gibby, who was spinning around the pole.

"Aaaaah!" he yelled.

"Okay, no more fish! And no more Gibby!" Sam said.

"Yeah, we have a little surprise for Sam," Carly said, grinning as Sam gave her a quizzical look. "You guys have been sending in TONS of get-well videos for Sam, but she hasn't seen any of them yet! So Freddie made a nice little montage of all of them. 60 seconds, 200 videos! Go!"

"Aw, you guys..." Sam trailed off, turning her back to the camera to look at the screen. I figured she was probably trying to hide the fact that she was getting emotional. That would be the last thing she'd do on camera.

The rest of the show went off like clock-work. It was one of our better ones, I think.

"Well, the show's almost over, but for the next two weeks, we've got the cast-count down! We have 14 days left, and then we get to see Sam's shriveled up arm. Yay!"

"I'll be wearing long-sleeved shirts the rest of the year," Sam grumbled.

"But you wear them so well," Carly commented.

"You're right, I do." Sam said with a grin. "Well, that's all for this week's show! Thanks so much for all the get-well videos you guys, and until then...always eat your cereal with a fork..."

"Do your homework in the dark," Carly added

"And don't forget to shave the llamas!" Sam yelled. "Peace out, viewers!"

I cranked the music up and then pressed a button on my laptop. "Aaaand we're clear!"

"WHOOOO!" Carly and Sam yelled, hugging each other.

"Ow," Sam said, grabbing her ribcage.

"Did you forget to get your meds before we started shooting?" I asked, kissing her. She nodded.

"I didn't want to be all drugged up on camera," she responded. "Why didn't you guys tell me about the get-well videos?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise!" Carly said. "Okay, so...victory pizza?"

"Hell yeah!" Sam cried. "I'm gonna go take my pill. I'll be back."

I put the camera down. "I'll go with you."

We walked out of the studio, going downstairs to Carly's kitchen, where Sam had kept an extra bottle of pills. She had been off morphine for a week, and been downgraded from Hydrocodone to Darvocet, which we were both happy about. Sam hated being overly drugged up, and I hated having to watch her get stuck in the arm every six hours. In only two weeks the cast on her arm would come off, and except for one rib, the one that had broken through her side, the rest were healed. She was on the road to getting back to normal.

We had all kept our word. After Colonel Morgan had taken Bill/Harold away to military prison for dodging the draft, we hadn't mentioned the events that had transpired since. Especially not the day in the ravine. I had done it for Sam, and swore an oath to myself that I would never let myself get that out of control with anyone ever again. I would never break it. As far as I was concerned, it had never happened.

Sam was a different person ever since the night I had taken her back to the hospital to get her own brand of revenge on Bill. She didn't jump at every loud noise like she had before. She didn't hide behind me all the time. She was herself again, feisty and fiery.

The hardest thing had been keeping our hands off each other. It was getting more and more difficult. We had slipped up and pushed it a few times, Sam starting it up even more often than I had, going too far until Sam suddenly hollered in pain. It made me feel guilty every time it happened, but as I said, Sam was guilty of starting it more often than me.

There were going to be MAJOR fireworks the day the doctor gave us the okay. I was a little bit nervous. It was quite possible that she would end up draining the life out of me, but man, what a way to go. Even better, she was all hopped up on birth control, so no more condoms. I wondered briefly if no condoms would affect how long I'd be able to last, but Sam's arms coming around me from behind brought me out of my thoughts.

"Sam..." I warned as she started to nibble on my ear.

"Sorry," she breathed huskily into my ear, not sorry at all. "I can't control myself."

"Are you trying to drive me insane?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Not yet," she said with a grin.

"So..." I trailed off. "Monday."

"Yep. Monday."

"Senior year."

"Yeah..." she trailed off. "A lot's changed between junior year and senior year, huh?"

I snorted inelegantly. "You think?"

"I wonder what kids at school are gonna think. You know, about us being married," Sam commented. I shrugged.

"I don't really care what they think. Do you?"

"No," she admitted. "But if any girls mess with you, I swear to god..."

"Try not to get any fights this year, baby. You know where my heart is." I kissed her softly, groaning as she tried to deepen the kiss. "Stoppp..." I mumbled against her lips, feeling myself get hard. Christ. One little kiss and I'm at full-salute. Fourteen more days to wait at the very least. I gave her a Look.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you think we could get my mom to put me in a medically-induced coma? Just for the next two weeks?" I responded. She laughed.

"I doubt it. She wouldn't want her precious baby boy to miss the first two weeks of school, you know," Sam teased.

"Yeah, I know."

Carly came bouncing down the stairs.

"Hey Sam, what do you want on your pizza?" she asked.

"Meat," Sam responded.

Carly rolled her eyes. "Okay, what kind of meat?"

"I don't recall saying a specific type. Just ask for all of it," Sam replied.

"ALL the meat? That's like 8 different kinds..." Carly trailed off.

"I guess that'll have to be enough," Sam said with a grin.

"Why haven't your arteries collapsed yet?" Carly grumbled before heading back up the stairs.

~*Sam*~

"Sam, get up," Freddie nudged me. I groaned, pulling the sheets over my head.

"Donwanna," I mumbled, hugging my Nosferatu bunny to my chest, wincing as my head scraped across my cast. Damn this stupid thing to hell.

"Sam, get UP!" he laughed before ripping the blankets off me. "We're gonna be late for school."

"I'm really broken up about that," I muttered.

"I will dump water on your face," Freddie threatened.

"What do you want your gravestone to say?" I grumbled, still refusing to open my eyes.

"Sam," Freddie's voice was closer suddenly, breathier than normal. The same voice he used when he wanted to get me riled up. I felt his lips on my neck, and I sighed. He kissed me on my lips, and I kissed him back eagerly, my eyes still closed. I felt him run one hand down between my breasts and over my stomach, before rubbing me between my legs. I gasped, my eyes popping open and my head jerking up.

"Now get up," he said, before standing up. My jaw dropped open.

"You stupid motherfucker!" I yelled, throwing Nosferatu at his head. "That was NOT cool."

"Got you up, didn't it?" Freddie responded. "Come on. Remember what we talked about? Buckling down? College?"

I glared at him, growling audibly, before standing up and marching over to him and biting his ear, my hand gripping his dick through his pajama pants and pumping up and down slowly.

"Jesus, Sam!" he gasped. I withdrew my hand and gave him a triumphant look.

"Two can play that game, nub."

"Oh, you little..." He trailed off when I glared at him. "I swear to god I was gonna say tease, Sam!" he whined, his hands going up defensively.

"I call first shower," I said with a sweet smile, the smile getting bigger as I heard Freddie swear as I marched off to the bathroom.

~*Carly*~

"Hey guys!" I called as I bounded over to Freddie and Sam. "What's up fellow seniors?"

Sam gave me a mischievous look. "Ask Freddie."

"Oh, shut up! That was SO not cool!"

"You started it," Sam said with a shrug. I rolled my eyes.

"Riling each other up again?" I asked. Sam nodded, and I tried to gloss over the issue. "What's your first class?"

"English."

"Hey, me too!" I said happily. Sam leaned against her locker, yawning.

"I'm tired as hell," she commented. "I'm so not ready for this."

"You'll be fine, Sam!" I exclaimed. "Won't she, Freddie?"

"Yep," Freddie replied stoically. "I gotta go, my first class is on the other side of the school." He leaned over and dropped a kiss on Sam's forehead. "I'll see you later, Sam."

"K," Sam responded flatly. I gave her a Look.

"What is wrong with you guys?" I asked. "Did you have a fight or something?"

Sam opened her locker quickly before sticking her head inside and letting out a yell. I jumped back, alarmed.

"Carly, I can't take this anymore! We're starting to be at each other's throats because we've gone so long without doing it!" Sam said, grabbing my shoulder and shaking me. "I understand why we used to try to kill each other all the time now! Cuz we just wanted to bang each other and didn't know it! But now we both know it, and it's even worse! This is torture!"

I put both hands on her face. "Sam! Get a hold of yourself! You have twelve more days, that's it!"

"I can't, Carly!" she whined. "I have to bang Freddie! I'd do him in the middle of the hallway if I could right now!"

"Well you'd get expelled..."

"It'd be worth it!" Sam hollered, bouncing up and down making whining noises. "Oh my god...you don't understand. We're arguing all the time because we have so much tension built up between us, and...ugh!"

I looked up as I heard the bell ring. "Come on, we gotta go, we're gonna be late!"

"Uhhhh..." Sam whined as I grabbed her arm and led her down the hall.


	28. Chapter 28: Too Much Monkey Business

**A/N: A little bit short, but mmm...lemony.**

**Chapter Twenty Eight:  
><strong>**Too Much Monkey Business**

~*Freddie*~

"...so how long after Carly and I left last night did you guys keep arguing?" Brad asked me as we sat outside on the school steps.

"I slept on the couch," I grunted, ignoring the way Brad's eyebrows went up.

"Wow, it's getting pretty bad then?" Brad asked.

"I think that qualifies as the understatement of the year," I replied, pulling out my phone to text Sam.

Where R U?

"What are you guys fighting about?" Gibby asked me. I sighed.

"Everything. The television, me eating the last donut, her taking too long in the shower. You name it, we argue about it," I responded. "I'm getting so sick of this shit." I heard my phone beep, and I looked down at it.

Sam: Be right there. Chill the hell out.

Brad struggled for a subject change. "So...does that mean we're back at the gym tonight?"

I nodded. "Closest thing to a sanctuary I have right now." Brad nudged me.

"Hey, there's Carly and Sam," he said, standing up and waving. I looked up and my mouth dropped open.

Sam and Carly were walking up alright, but Sam was wearing a different outfit than she'd put on that morning, wearing a v-neck t-shirt that looked a few sizes too small and a short pair of shorts, a lollipop hanging out of her mouth. She was breaking every rule of the school dress code right now, and she was doing it to fuck with me.

"Hey," Carly said with a grin, walking up to Brad and kissing him.

"Fast enough for you?" Sam asked me with a glare.

"What the hell are you wearing?" I asked, ignoring her comment. She smiled and looked down.

"Oh, this? I dumped soda on my shirt, had to get a new one," she responded, pulling the sucker out of her mouth and making an exaggerated show of sticking her tongue out and licking it. Carly, Brad, and Gibby stood by watching the two of us go at it, Brad and Gibby gaping at Sam and Carly with her head in her hand.

"A little small, don't you think?" I replied. She shrugged and turned to Carly.

"Can I borrow a pen?"

"Uh, sure..." Carly trailed off, reaching into her bag and pulling out a black ballpoint pen, handing it to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Sam responded. She grabbed the pen out of Carly's hand and then "accidentally" dropped it at my feet.

"Oops," she said, bending over in front of me so her cleavage was inches away from my face. I shook my head.

"That is not funny, Sam," I said.

"What are you talking about?" she asked innocently, putting her hands on her hips and jutting her chest forward.

"Sam," Carly warned through gritted teeth. "Don't...poke...the bear."

"This is bullshit," I snapped.

"You're right, it is," Sam replied simply. "For both of us."

I stood up suddenly, coming off the step and getting right in her face, our chests pressed up against each other. I leaned forward like I was going to kiss her, a few inches short of her lips. She looked up at me, her breathing labored.

"I'm gonna go to gym," I murmured, rubbing against her before pulling away. "I'll see you later." I looked at everyone else. "Brad, you coming?"

"Uh...yeah...I'll see you later, Carly," Brad responded. I turned and began walking away, leaving Sam fuming.

"Damn you!" she hollered. I didn't bother to turn around, just kept walking.

"You guys are gonna kill each other before the two weeks is up," Brad commented.

I growled. "Eleven days, six hours, thirty seven minutes til she gets that cast off. Fifteen minutes from the hospital to Bushwell. Two minutes in the elevator. One minute to the bedroom. Then she's a goner."

"A goner?" Brad asked, his brows furrowed.

"Yep," I responded as we walked to our cars. "Cuz I'm gonna fuck the shit outta her. I'll see you there."

~*Sam*~

"Sam, don't you think you're teasing Freddie too much?" Carly asked me as we walked down the sidewalk back to Bushwell. I shrugged.

"He started it yesterday morning."

"But you guys are even now," Carly pointed out. I glared at her.

"Name one time I've ever been satisfied with getting even? He is FUCKED! Literally, and figuratively. Just wait til I get this cast off, Carls."

I wanted to kill Freddie and rip his clothes off all the same time. I couldn't stand it any longer. When I was in the hospital I was so drugged up I couldn't feel anything, but the better I got, the more I just wanted to resume things the way they were, back when Freddie and I couldn't keep our hands off each other. Now we couldn't touch each other at all, and we just argued. It was driving me crazy. We were so mad at each other that we'd stopped trying to respect each other's limits and just began an all-out war of seeing who could make the other one the horniest. Every time I got a leg up on Freddie he'd turn around and pull something that would get me so worked up I couldn't stand it. We were so mad right now we hadn't even kissed each other all day! That was completely unheard of for us! Even when my cheek was broken I'd deal with the pain just to have his lips on mine. I couldn't deal with this much longer!

"You know, if you both eased up on each other a little bit, it wouldn't be so bad," Carly commented.

"No, we're way beyond that point now," I replied, suddenly grabbing her arm and stopping her as we passed a phone booth. "Hey," I said. "Keep watch for a second."

"What? Watch? Why?" Carly asked. I ignored her and ducked into the booth, quickly pulling down my shirt and bra and snapping a picture of my breasts before inputting Freddie's number and pressing send. I pulled open the door, smoothing my shirt out.

"Okay, done."

Carly eyed me suspiciously. "What'd you just do?" she asked.

"Sent him a picture of my boobs."

"Sam! That's so mean!" she said. I shrugged.

"I play to win."

"You know he's just gonna do something worse to you, right?"

"I'd like to see him try!" I replied.

~*Freddie*~

I sighed as I pulled into the parking lot of the gym. This whole mess with Sam was really getting out of hand, we were both really pushing each other's limits and I didn't know how long it could go on and we both snapped. We were both under strict orders from my mom and Sam's doctor to NOT engage in sexual activity before the six week mark had passed to make sure Sam's ribs were fully healed, so her injuries weren't exacerbated. But god, it was so hard! The tension had built up so bad that both of us were inches away from snapping on each other. I felt guilty for wondering how accurate the healing time was, whether Sam's ribs had healed faster than six weeks, but in my defense she was intentionally teasing me now, and I know the same thoughts had crossed her mind, because we'd talked about it. Endlessly. God, just one time! Just to get it out of my system, and out of hers. Then we could go back to being normal and not trying to kill each other.

I opened my car door and got out as Brad pulled in right behind me, and I waited for him to get out, leaning against my car, nearly growling with sexual frustration.

"I'm gonna smash a hole right through that punching bag today, I swear to god, man!" I said as he got out and shut his door. Brad laughed.

"Easy boy. Come on, you think I'm not getting worked up with the chaste little kissing sessions between me and Carly?" Brad asked.

"Well, yeah, but you guys haven't had sex yet. Sam and I were going at it like rabbits until all that shit went down," I responded. Brad shrugged.

"I get that, but I'm just saying, I feel your pain."

We started to walk in, when my phone beeped at me. I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a message from Sam. I clicked "Read Message" and waited for it to load.

You know, if things had been normal, I would have been ecstatic at the idea of Sam sending me a picture of her gorgeous breasts. But things were not normal. And she had just crossed a big line.

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled, turning around walking back to my car. "Fuck this!" I had reached my breaking point.

"Where are you going?" Brad called to me.

"I'll be back!" I yelled before getting in my car, cranking the engine and high-tailing it out of the parking lot.

I knew she'd be at Carly's, so that's where I was going. I parked my car, storming through the lobby, ignoring Lewbert's unintelligible yells at me and going right past the elevator, heading for the staircase. Eight floors up I went, seething with anger. I finally reached Carly's door, banking on it being unlocked. It was. I took a deep breath and turned the knob slowly, opening the door quietly.

"I still think you were out of line, sending him that picture," I heard Carly say.

"Yeah, well, he deserves it, getting me riled up all the time like he does," Sam grumbled. I dared to look, and saw Carly rifling around the kitchen with Sam leaning over the counter, her ass sticking out. This was too perfect. Carly spotted me, but before she could speak, I lifted a finger to my lips, creeping up behind Sam. When I was directly behind her, I pulled my hand back, steadying myself. It was on now.

THWACK! My hand came down right on Sam's perfectly shaped ass, smacking it before giving it a firm squeeze.

Let's get something straight. I would never in a million years try to physically hurt Sam. I would never hit her with a closed fist, slap her, push her, or anything even remotely close to it. But her ass was fair game.

Sam jumped straight in the air, hollering in alarm, before whirling around to look at me. The look in her eyes was pure anger, but she wasn't half as angry as I was.

"What the FUCK, Freddie?" she yelled at me.

"You wanna act like a bad girl, I'm gonna treat you like one!" I growled back.

"Bastard!" she yelled, advancing towards me. My eyebrows went up. Oh, hell no.

"Bitch," I responded simply. She didn't speak, just continued to glare at me, before turning around to look at Carly.

"I'll be right back," she said, before grabbing me by the back of the neck with her good arm and pushing me towards the elevator, pressing the button and violently shoving me inside it.

"GUYS! STOP!" I heard Carly yell as the doors shut. Sam whirled around, pressing the "Stop" button on the elevator.

"Fuck this," she hissed. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Do something about it then!" I challenged her.

We both stared at each other for what seemed like forever before Sam shoved me against the wall of the elevator, her lips coming down on mine so hard it hurt. We kissed each other hungrily, all the sexual tension that had been building up for weeks finally coming to a head. My hands went to the back of her head, holding her steady as I kissed her passionately, our tongues fighting for dominance. Her hands went for my waist, moving under the hem of my shirt before running across my abs and chest. My hands tangled through her long blonde hair, pulling her head back to lick and bite at her neck. She whimpered, grinding against me, before reaching down to unzip my jeans.

"You've been taking the pills?" I asked, gasping as she began stroking my dick.

"Yeah," she muttered, letting go of me to unzip her shorts and push them over her hips along with her underwear. "Sit down."

I sat on the floor, pulling her down with me and groaning as she straddled me.

"You're sure about this?" I asked her as she busied herself with nibbling on my ear, my hands reaching under her shirt to unhook her bra before ripping her shirt over her head, careful not to hurt her casted-up arm.

"Fuck my ribs," she said breathily as our mouths found each other. She pulled my shirt over my head and we both moaned as our bare chests rubbed against each other's for the first time in weeks. "Just don't grab me there, okay?"

"I won't," I responded. I hissed as she ground her hips against me. I could feel how wet she was already. She kissed me roughly.

"I love you," she reminded me.

"Love you too baby," I barely got out before she aligned her body with mine, allowing me to slide inside her. I threw my head back, wincing as it hit the wall, at the feel of her hot, tight walls around me. I swear I almost exploded right then and there. I'd never been inside her without a condom, and the fact that it'd been so long since we'd had sex at all made it difficult to hold back. "Fuck! Wait, Sam. Don't move." I gripped her hips tightly, my fingers digging in. "Don't...fucking...move..." I hissed.

"Tell me when you're ready," she whispered in my ear, giving me time to control myself. I gasped in breaths of air as I tried to clear my head.

"Okay," I said. "Not too fast, baby."

She pulled off me, bringing her hips down slowly, both of us moaning in unison. Oh god, it had been too long!

"Oh god, Freddie!" she moaned, bringing my head to her breasts. One hand went to her back, holding her steady as I licked and sucked at her sweet, long-neglected nipples. She began grinding against me, moving up and down. I groaned, trying to control myself. She felt SO. FUCKING. GOOD. I snaked my free hand between us to rub at her, trying to get her closer to the edge, and she buried her face in my shoulder, biting my neck roughly.

"Fuck, Sam!" I hissed. "God, I missed this!"

"Me too...ohhh!" she cried, bucking her hips.

"Slow down..." I gasped. "Don't...hurt...yourself..."

"I don't care..." she moaned. "Oh, god...fuck...fuck...Freddie...shit...Oh my GOD!"

"Getting close?" I asked before kissing her passionately.

"Yes! Fuck, this feels so good! Oh my god! I don't ever wanna stop!"

"Yeah, baby, come for me, I wanna feel it, it's been too long..." I said, moaning as I felt her muscles clench around me. I was starting to lose it, I just hoped she'd get there before I did. She leaned back, her arm going behind her to hold herself up. I angled my hips so all the weight would bear right on her g-spot, and I felt her shiver. I wrapped an arm around her waist, as far away from her ribcage as possible, before leaning forward to lick at her breasts again.

"Fuuuu-uuuck!" she yelled, jerking against me. "Oh god!"

"I love you so fucking much, Sam," I gasped. "You feel so good!"

"You do too! Oh, god! Freddie..." she whined, moving her hips in a frantic circle. "Freddie, I'm gonna...oh god, FREDDIE!"

"Shit, Sam...baby...fuck!"

"FREDDIE!"

"SAM!"

We both exploded at the same time, grabbing onto each other tightly. I felt dizzy as I shuddered uncontrollably inside her. It felt better than it ever had before, she felt hotter and tighter and warmer than she ever had when we had to use condoms. Fuck condoms! We were done with those. She collapsed against me, shuddering, her face buried in my neck. I leaned my head against the wall, trying to catch my breath as I stroked her hair.

"Oh my god," she moaned. "That was...oh my god."

"How's your ribs?" I asked, kissing her neck.

"They don't hurt," she responded softly, lifting her head to look at me, a dazed expression still on her face. "Freddie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, I..." I cut her off, pressing my lips against hers.

"It's okay, both of us were pushing each other's buttons."

"I feel much better now," she said with a grin. I laughed.

"Me too, baby. Me too."


	29. Chapter 29: Do You Want to Know a Secret

**A/N: Sorry guys, had to take a few days off from writing this because I got a paying assignment! But it's all done, hopefully I can resume writing this! As for ILMM, I have two things to say...SEDDIE! SPAGHETTI! Lol...**

**Chapter Twenty Nine:  
><strong>**Do You Want to Know a Secret?**

~*Sam*~

"Is it three yet?" I groaned, stretching my leg to nudge Freddie across the aisle. He shook his head.

"Sorry baby," he said.

"Quiet, you two!" Mr. Henning warned, looking up at us from his desk.

"Sorry, Mr. Henning," Freddie said sheepishly.

"Stop apologizing!" I whispered. Freddie gave me a look.

Ugh, I was so bored! I hated science! Listening to Mr. Henning speak just gave me a headache. Did he realize how boring he was? I didn't even know what the lecture was about!

I looked over at Freddie, my eyes traveling over his biceps, licking my lips as I thought about the elevator. All that tension that had built up, the explosion it had caused. God, it was just so sexy. Still, we needed to get out of the habit of doing it against walls and doors. There were plenty of other places we could be doing it, and I planned on trying out all of them. The breakfast bar, kitchen table, the soda...Freddie's backseat was still completely pristine and unused, which simply wouldn't do. Okay, so we were trying to take it easy until we were "officially" given the okay by Dr. Robert, which mostly meant I was on top so my ribs wouldn't get crushed, and we took it very slow, and cut back in terms of frequency. Before the "incident", we were making love five, sometimes six times a day, now we were holding off as long as possible, maybe once a day if we were lucky. Still didn't change the fact that after the period of forced celibacy, being with him in any way was hot as hell.

Freddie must have felt my eyes on him, because he lifted his head to look at me, his eyebrows raised as he read the look on my face. The boy had no trouble knowing exactly what I was thinking, pretty much all the time. He could read me like a book. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Stop," he said, referring to the way my eyes were roaming over him, mentally undressing him. I shook my head 'no'.

Before it could go any further, the bell rang, snapping us out of our "eye-screwing" session.

"Okay, read chapter 3 tonight, and your graded papers are on my desk!" Mr. Henning called as we all got up. I quickly snatched the paper with my name on it off Mr. Henning's desk, bounding into the hallway with Freddie not far behind me.

"Aw, a B," Freddie said as he looked at his paper, slightly disappointed. "What'd you get?"

I shrugged. "Who cares?" I responded before looking down. My jaw dropped, and my hand gripped Freddie's arm.

"What is that?" I asked, showing the paper to Freddie and gesturing to the red letter at the top of the page. Freddie's eyebrows went up.

"...That's an A, Sam," he responded. He smiled and kissed me. "Good job!"

"This must be a mistake..." I trailed off. "What the hell did you do to me the other night?"

"Uh...made you study?" Freddie responded, confused.

"Oh," I said, frowning. "This can't be normal. Maybe something in my head got knocked loose or something..." I was cut off by an annoying, high pitched voice.

"Hey, Freddie!" I watched Freddie roll his eyes.

"Hi, Patrice," he groaned. I glared at her, watching the way she toyed with her hair and gazed up at Freddie.

"How was your summer?" she asked flirtily.

"It was great," Freddie responded. "Got married!"

Patrice made a face. "Is that like a joke?"

I decided to butt in. "No, Patrice, you're the joke," I said before flashing my giant rock of a diamond ring. I wanted to smack the arrogant look she made right off her face.

"Wait, you married SAM?" Patrice laughed. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

"Why do you care so much all of a sudden?" Freddie responded.

"Because you got so hot..." she said, stopping short when she saw the way I looked at her.

"You have three seconds to walk away, before I rip your arm off and beat you to death with it," I threatened, stepping in front of Freddie. She laughed a little bit.

"You have a broken arm. Apparently you mouthed off to the wrong person over the summer," Patrice snapped. I opened my mouth to say something, before Freddie pulled me back, stepping in front of ME.

"Shut the hell up," he warned her. "She's not gonna be in a cast forever."

"Fine, whatever," Patrice responded, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Call me when you get bored of this one," she said, running her fingertip over his chest.

"BEAT IT!" I yelled, moving forward, fully intending to hit her before Freddie caught my shoulder, holding my good arm back. "GRRRR!"

At this latest outburst, Patrice jumped back, before hurrying away. I turned to Freddie, a shocked expression on my face. "Can you believe that shit? She knows you're married, it's all over Bushwell not to mention Ridgeway...and the internet!"

"I know," Freddie responded, his arm going around my waist. "But you can't actually growl at someone, Sam. You're not an animal."

I moved closer to him. "That's not what you said last night...didn't you call me...what was it...a wildcat?" I asked in his ear, enjoying the way his cheeks flushed a bit. "Just think," I whispered huskily. "Nine more days, and then what we're doing now...well, it's gonna be like foreplay."

"Jesus, Sam," he responded, kissing me. "Don't get me started in the middle of the hallway."

"Sorry," I responded. "I'll wait til we get home then to get you started. And then to finish you." He groaned. I grinned at him, then out of the corner of my eye spotted Carly walking towards us. "Carly!" I screeched. "I got this weird letter on my paper, Freddie said it was an 'A'! Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, great," she said softly, looking at the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Carly," I warned. "Don't keep secrets from me! Tell me what's up!"

She looked around conspiratorially before opening her mouth. "Well, you know that Brad and I have been dating for over six weeks..." she began.

"And that's bad?" Freddie asked.

"He hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend," she said glumly. "I mean, you guys didn't even date...and you're married! What's wrong with me?"

"Okay, first of all, Sam and I aren't exactly the cornerstones of normality, Carly," Freddie responded, ignoring the glare I gave him. "Secondly, I'll go talk to him."

"Screw that!" I exclaimed. "I'm gonna go kick his ass!" Freddie rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that'll help. Let me talk to him. I'll bring it up at the gym."

Carly shrugged. "If you think it will help."

"I mean, I'm not gonna try to talk him into it, just...you know, figure out where his head is at."

Carly nodded. "Okay. Thanks Freddie. Sam, you wanna hang out after school's out?"

I shook my head. "I can't. I have to go to the doctor," I responded weakly. Carly looked confused.

"But I thought your doctor appointment wasn't until next week."

"Um, different kind of doctor," Freddie said.

"Wait, didn't you already go to get birth control?"

"Um...yeah. It's a...different...kind of doctor," I responded, not wanting to talk about the situation further. Carly stared at me for a moment, before a lightbulb went off in her head.

"Oh my god, you're going to a shrink?" She asked, before I clapped my hand over her mouth.

"Shut it, Shay!" I yelled. "You want everyone to know I'm a headcase?"

"You're not a headcase!" Freddie and Carly yelled at me.

"Fine, whatever. I just don't want anyone to know about this, okay?"

"Okay," Carly responded simply.

"I just...I'm working out some issues. Old issues." I replied.

"Sam, you don't have to explain it to me," Carly responded. "I'm glad that you're working things out." I shrugged, unwilling to continue talking about the subject. Luckily the bell rang.

"Last class of the day!" I yelled, jumping for joy. "See you guys in an hour." I kissed Freddie. "Bye baby. Love you."

"Love you too," he said with a smile, before smacking me on the ass.

"Hey! We said no getting each other riled up in school!" I cried. He grabbed my arm, pulling me back to him.

"And what makes you think that didn't me just as riled up as it did you?" He growled in my ear, before kissing me on the side of my neck. "Later, Sam."

I watched him walk away, dumbfounded. Boy was gonna be in big trouble when we got home...

"So, after you get done at the 'doctor', are we gonna hang out tonight?" Carly asked, making air quotes with her fingers. I nodded.

"Movie session? Bring your man, I'll bring mine."

Carly sighed. "But he's NOT my man, not yet."

"Have you seen him with any other girls?" I responded.

"Well...no, but..." Carly trailed off.

"Carly! Brad likes you! A lot! Stop freaking out!" I said, shaking her shoulder.

"He may like me, but..."

"But what, Carls?"

"I love him," she responded simply. My eyes widened.

"Holy crap!" I said excitedly. "You love him!" Carly nodded.

"He's all I think about."

"Aw, Carly! I'm sure he feels the same way, but...you have to give the boy little hints. You know, that you want it to be serious..." I said, raising my eyebrows at her.

"Like what?"

"Well, for starters, you could try making out with the boy a little bit instead of just giving him little pecks on the cheek, dude!" I responded.

"Yeah, but..." Carly frowned.

"Just loosen up, Carly! Look, tonight we'll all go up to the studio, watch some movies, turn the lights down...you know..." I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"Fine, but you and Freddie better not start doing it right there in front us!" Carly responded.

"Give me some credit, Carly! I'll just get him really riled up by making out with him for a few hours. It'll be fun!" I replied. "I gotta go to class before I get detention, Marissa will yell at me. I'll see you tonight!" With that, I left Carly standing in the hallway, pondering what would happen tonight.

~*Carly*~

"Sam, stop it!" I whined as she pulled on the straps of my bra.

"No! They're not pushed up enough yet! We want Brad's eyes to pop out of his head!"

"Well my boobs aren't as big as yours, Sam!" I said.

"Who cares? Work with what you got, not with what you want!"

I was in my bedroom with Sam, who was trying to gussy me up a bit before Freddie showed up with Brad. Apparently the plan involved me throwing myself at Brad, which I wasn't too happy about, but I mean, desperate times, desperate measures, right?

It was a little odd that SAM was coaching me on how to deal with my love life, when it used to be the other way around, but things had changed, and they'd changed a LOT. I'd barely french-kissed Brad, but Sam was having sex with Freddie like it was going out of style. I was really, really nervous. I'd had no idea what Freddie had said to Brad, where Brad's head was...sheesh, I didn't even know where MY head was! I just knew that I had Very Strong feelings for Brad, and I was sick of waiting around for him to decide whether or not he wanted me to be his girlfriend.

I heard a knock at my bedroom door, and a moment later it opened a bit.

"Hey." It was Freddie, and he was alone. I gave him a panicked look.

"Uh, where's Brad?" I asked.

"Oh, he wanted to change first, he'll be right back," Freddie responded, sitting down on the bed. I heard an 'oof' noise as Sam dove on top of him, kissing him. "Hey, baby!" he laughed. "How was your appointment?"

Sam shrugged, rolling off Freddie and laying down next to him. "It was...okay. I don't like talking about my problems."

"I know." Freddie responded, kissing her on the forehead. "Look, just go back a few more times, and if you hate it that much, we'll try another way."

"Didya talk to Brad? Did you?" Sam changed the subject, poking Freddie. He smacked her hand away, laughing.

"Yeah, I talked to him," Freddie responded. My eyes widened, and I whirled around to face him.

"What'd he say?" I asked. Freddie shook his head.

"Can't tell you."

"What?" I gaped at him. "Why not?"

"Because you'll find out soon enough," Freddie mused. "Ow! Sam, dammit, are we back to that?" he rubbed his sore nipple and glared at her.

"Well then just tell us what he said!" Sam responded. "Or I'll do it again!"

"Can you guys just be patient for a little while?" Freddie responded. "Like...until Saturday night?" he looked at me pointedly. My eyes got big, and Freddie just gave me a shrug, smiling.

"Okay..." I breathed. "How do I look?"

"One sec," Sam got off the bed and walked behind me, yanking my bra straps backwards and pushing my boobs up even more.

"Ow!" I yelled.

"There. Much better," Sam said with a grin.

~*Sam*~

"Sam, why are we watching this?" Carly whined at me.

"Because it's awesome!" I responded as I plopped down next to Freddie. "How can you not like the Terminator movies?"

"Because I just don't, can we please watch something else?"

"Sorry, Carly, majority rules," Brad said, poking her in the ribs.

I watched Carly pout, and started getting annoyed. If she kept acting like a little girl there was no way someone like Brad would want her to be his girlfriend. If she wanted to pull him in, she was going to have to up the ante a little bit. I stood up suddenly, causing Freddie to give me a surprised look. I gave him a wink before walking over by the studio door.

"Carly, come here for a minute!" I called, trying hard not to sound like I was up to something, even though I obviously was.

Carly stood up and walked over, a curious expression on her face. "What's up?" she said in a low voice, glancing at Brad. I gave Freddie a Look, and he began engaging Brad in conversation so that he wouldn't overhear us girls talking.

I turned off all the lights at the switch before grinning at her mischievously.

"Time to put that push-up bra to good use," I said. Her eyes widened.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "Sam!"

"Helping you give Brad a little initiative, that's all," I responded. "Go over there and sit in his lap and start kissing him."

She glared at me. "What? I can't do that, he'll think..."

"What, that you want him? You do, right?"

"Well...yeah...but..."

"No buts, Carly. You need to show him a little bit of edge if you want him to pull out all the stops and make things official," I responded, my hands going to her bra straps to push the girls up a little more. "Now, go and sit in his lap. Don't worry, I'll keep Freddie occupied."

"Do not start having sex in front of us, Sam," she warned. I gave her an innocent look, blinking several times.

"Who, me?" I laughed. "Don't worry about me. Look, just follow my lead, okay? You'll have Brad eating out of the palm of your hand before the night's over with. Just trust me, okay?"

She nodded, looking a little apprehensive. "Okay."

I walked by her, pausing to lean over to whisper in her ear. "Don't forget to use your tongue."

"Sam!" she hissed. I shrugged, then signaled for her to follow me. I walked back over to my husband, not even bothering with a lead up and simply straddling his lap.

"Oh," he laughed. "Hi, Sam."

"Hi, baby," I said with a smile, before kissing him. His arms went around my waist as he began to kiss me back. I stole a glance over at Carly and Brad. She wasn't straddling him, she was just sitting in his lap, but they were kissing now, and Brad wasn't complaining. I could tell Carly had heeded my advice and was indeed using her tongue. Jeez, about time, Shay! I knew for a fact she'd never done anything with a guy beyond a simple peck, Brad included. I was pretty sure that was the whole reason he'd been holding back on making her his girlfriend...he didn't want to go that far if he wasn't sure Carly had a certain passion for him, and I was doing everything to help Carly give him a push in the right direction.

"Hey," Freddie said, kissing my neck. "I'm over here." I laughed a little, kissing him, then nibbling on his ear a bit, grinding against his lap. A low growl came from his throat.

"Sam..." he whined. "You gonna tease me again?"

"A little," I murmured. "Until we get home. I'm just trying to help Carly out a little bit. Some people just need a little instruction, you know?"

Freddie laughed. "If you're instructing Carly on how to please a man, Brad will be a goner." I grinned.

"That's what I'm hoping for," I responded, kissing him. "So everybody's happy."

"So you're happy?"

"With you? I'm more than happy." I replied. My attention drifted back to Carly and Brad. Carly had switched from sitting in Brad's lap to straddling him. Good girl, I knew if she played her cards right she'd begin to feel exactly how much Brad was enjoying it. I caught Carly's eye, purposefully moving my hand to the back of Freddie's head and tugging on his hair a little bit, making an exaggerated show of grinding my hips against him, hoping she'd get the hint. She did, and a moment later I heard Brad groan against Carly's mouth. I grinned in satisfaction, before going back to kissing Freddie.

"Why do I feel like a CPR dummy?" Freddie whispered in my ear as I felt his hands travel from my back to my ass, squeezing it. I gasped and bit his ear in retaliation.

"You don't want to be my test subject?" I purred, bringing my hands down to slide under his shirt so I could feel his skin. God, I loved his skin. It was tan and smooth and as soft as mine in certain places. That was always one of my favorite parts of being with him, the first rush of sudden skin-to-skin contact.

"You wanna experiment on me, baby? I'm game," he responded with a smirk. I grabbed his hair harder so I could tilt his head back and lick over his adam's apple, feeling it pulse against my tongue. I looked over to see Carly doing the same to Brad. Awesome, my best friend's a fast learner! A final measure, I leaned back a little, arching my back a bit, my hand still at the back of Freddie's head, and pushed his head down into my cleavage, pumping my hips up and down, bam, bam, bam. Freddie growled, coming back up and capturing my mouth with his, kissing me passionately. I gave up trying to instruct Carly to worry about my own man as he forced me to give up my plans and began getting me fired up.

I had nearly forgotten about Carly, until I heard two distinct noises that made me wonder if I had a future in sex education.

"Jesus, Carly!" I heard Brad mutter, his voice muffled a bit, probably from Carly's boobs.

"Ahh!" I heard Carly squeak. I looked up, and noticed Carly had given up watching me and was figuring things out on her own. Well done, grasshopper.

I stood up, pulling Freddie with me. "Let's go back to the apartment. Advanced Master Classes." We walked past Carly and Brad without saying a word, shutting the door behind us. I peeked through the glass to see Carly had lost her position on top of Brad, because Brad was now on top of Carly.

"And, my work here is done!" I said triumphantly, raising my arms in a Messiah-like manner. Freddie grabbed me around my waist from behind, pulling me to the stairs.

"Nah, baby, your work is just beginning," he said, licking a trail up my neck to my ear before turning me around and pulling me down the stairs.


	30. Chapter 30: Here Comes the Sun

**Chapter Thirty:**  
><strong>Here Comes the Sun<strong>

~*Sam*~

I was having an amazing dream.

For starters, the cast was gone. Meaning I now had two hands to run through Freddie's hair, and keep his head where it was supposed to be, which was between my legs.

Okay, so I was used to it in real life, of course, but I'd never had a sex dream THIS good before. It felt like pure electricity, like it was really happening. I could feel his lips moving over me, his fingers curling inside of me, his tongue working slow circles over the most sensitive part of my body, his hand massaging my breast. I could even feel my muscles clenching, my thighs trembling, my back arching. I could feel Freddie's breath on me. Oh man, what an amazing dream.

It was almost too real. I could feel myself getting closer and closer to the edge. I could hear myself moaning. I could feel myself...oh my god.

My eyes popped open as I jerked uncontrollably, my entire body tensing up and my thighs shaking. I gripped Freddie's hair even harder as I ground my hips against his face.

"God, FREDDIEEEEEEE!" I cried, my hands leaving his head to grip at the sheets. "Aaah!" I collapsed against the bed as I came back down to earth, panting, my eyes closing again. I felt Freddie move up my body, kissing here and there. It occurred to me that I had been dressed when I went to bed, and now I was naked, but I didn't care.

"Good morning," he murmured before kissing me.

"Yeah, no shit," I laughed, gasping for breath. I moaned as he kissed the sensitive spot behind my ear, and my arms went around his neck. "Oh my god, I thought I was having a very vivid dream...that is an amazing way to wake up."

He grinned, laying down next to me, one arm laying across my body. "Happy cast-off day..."

Oh my god! In the midst of my earth-shattering orgasm, I had forgotten all about that!

"Ah!" I cried happily, my hand going to his shoulder and flipping him onto his back. He looked up at me, slightly perplexed, and I gave him a mischievous smile before bending down to kiss his neck, moving lower to his chest and abs.

"Baby," he gasped. "We're gonna be late for school..."

"So?" I responded, licking over his ridiculously cut pelvic muscles. "You gonna stop me?"

"Uhhh...no...goddd..." Freddie moaned.

~*Carly*~

I walked out of my first period class to see Freddie and Sam walking down the hallway.

"Hey!" I said, hurrying over to them. "You guys missed first period?"

"Yeah..." Freddie trailed off, not sounding terribly broken up about it.

I rolled my eyes. "Celebrating cast-off day?"

"Something like that," Sam said with a sly grin. "So how'd things go last night with Brad?"

My cheeks flushed a bit. "Uh, it was...good."

Sam grinned, elbowing me. "Like...good good, or just good?"

"Umm...well...you know..." I trailed off, biting my lip.

Truth was, last night with Brad had been nothing short of incredible. We'd made out for literally hours...it was nearly two in the morning before he went downstairs to his own apartment. I had NEVER gone that far with a guy before, and compared to Sam and Freddie it wasn't really that far at all, but...I was beginning to understand what all the fuss was about. I loved being able to sit in his lap and run my hands all over him, but I liked it more when he flipped me onto my back and started showing me all the things I'd been missing. Sam snapped her fingers in front of my face, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Oh come on, Carly, don't be shy, tell me..." Sam trailed off, her eyes narrowing.

"What?"

"What's that?" Sam asked, pushing my hair over my shoulder and peering at my neck. My eyes widened as I clapped a hand over the spot she was staring at.

"Nothing!" I responded indignantly.

"Nothing, huh?" Sam replied with a grin, before grabbing my wrist and pulling my hand away from my neck. "So what's that spot?"

"Umm...I...hit my neck. In the shower. Yeah, it hurt really bad," I responded lamely, feeling my cheeks burn. "So, cast-off day, huh?"

"You got a hickey!" Sam pointed out triumphantly. "I'm the best sex ed teacher EVER! One lesson and you have MARKS! Freddie, look! Carly got her first hickey!"

"What?" Freddie said. "Let me see!" He walked over to me, pushing my hair back in the same manner Sam had. "Hmm..." he trailed off for a second. "Is that a hickey or a bite mark? Cuz it kinda looks like a bite ma-"

"You guys!" I yelled, stepping away. "Stop! You're embarrassing me!"

Sam gave me an amused look. "You didn't seem too embarrassed last night when Brad had his face in your boobs and we were sitting like three feet away from you."

"Oh my god, SHUT UP!" I yelled. "You guys were doing the same thing!"

"Yeah but Freddie didn't leave hickeys all over me," Sam said.

"Well, not anywhere you can see..." Freddie said with a grin.

"Oh my god, I cannot believe I'm having this conversation with you two, this is ridiculous!" I moaned.

"You want me to show you how to give him one back?" Sam asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

I stared at her for a second, silent. "Yeah, can you?" I asked breathlessly. "I kinda wanna brand him."

Sam gave me a smile before catching Freddie off-guard and slamming him into the lockers. "K. I'm the undisputed queen of hickeys." She looked at Freddie. "Tilt your head back."

"What? No, not in the- Ow ow ow let go of my hair, Sam! Ow!" Sam had grabbed hold of the hair at the back of his head and had yanked his hair back. I looked down at the floor awkwardly. It was amazing how strong she was even when she only had the use of one arm.

"Okay, observe, Shay. Now, first rule. Don't just latch onto his neck like you're a vaccum cleaner and start sucking. That's no fun."

Freddie sighed pitifully. "This is not how I expected senior year to go at all..."

"Shut up, nub, you're distracting me, and since when do you complain about my mouth on your neck?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned back to me. "Okay, so don't just start sucking on his neck. Start with your tongue, just rubbing over his neck. THEN you start sucking on it. And then you just need to use your teeth a little bit. Like this." She suddenly attached her mouth to Freddie's neck, and he made a strange face that looked like he was enjoying it and hating it all at the same time.

"Too much teeth!" he hollered suddenly. "Damn, take it easy, Dracula!"

Sam pulled away from him, licking a trail up the spot she'd just bitten. "Then, after you bite him, do that with your tongue. Makes the pain go away but the...what do you call those things, baby?"

"Endorphins?"

"Yeah, the endorphins from the pain still stick around, so he'll feel a little bit dizzy. In a good way." she responded. "If you apply enough pressure and suction you'll leave a nice little mark like that." She waved a hand around the spot on Freddie's neck like a Price is Right model. "Questions, comments?"

"You have a very dark gift, Sam," I said with a raise of my eyebrow. She grinned.

"I know. But I mean, in my defense, I had time to practice. There's been nothing good on tv for weeks." I laughed as I saw Freddie nod, still rubbing at the newly formed hickey on his neck.

"So, anything else you need to..." Sam trailed off when she became aware of eyes on her, and turned to look at the jock, a muscular guy with brains for rocks named Colin, that was staring at her. "Can I help you?"

Colin was looking at her like he wanted to eat her alive, it was disgusting. I was not cool with the way this moron was looking at my best friend, and by the look on Freddie's face, he didn't like the way the guy was looking at his wife. He stood against the lockers, his arms crossed over his chest, just observing. Freddie wasn't the type to go crazy with jealousy, or violence, but after the ravine incident, there wasn't any telling what could happen if his buttons got pushed.

"Uh...hey...Sam." Colin said. "How's it going?"

Sam gave me a perplexed expression, before looking back at him. "Uh...fine...why?"

"How's your...arm?" Funny, he wasn't looking at Sam's arm. He needed to take a long, hard look at the ring on Sam's finger! This was getting ridiculous! First Freddie had become the topic of conversation amongst Ridgeway girls, and now it seemed it was Sam's turn with the guys.

"It's fine..." Sam frowned. "And you care because?"

"Just...you know..."

"No, I really don't." Sam crossed her arms over her chest. "And my eyes are up here!"

I looked over at Freddie, who looked like he was ready to snap Colin's neck. I put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.

"Easy, Freddie..." I said. "No more violence, remember?" He grunted like a caveman, and I knew the only thoughts going on in his head were very caveman-like. Basically, 'My Woman!'

I turned my attention back to Sam, who seemed like she was having a great deal of fun dressing down a jock and humiliating him. This wasn't normal; the jocks either ignored Sam or made fun of her, before she hit them that is. I had no idea what all the hustle and bustle was about. They were married, I got that, but I didn't see why it made both Sam and Freddie perpetual hot topics in our school hallways.

Sam fired off one last comment before Colin gave up and walked away; that was when she started paying attention to the way OTHER guys were looking at her.

"What the hell?" Sam growled. "Did everyone fall out of bed and hit their heads today? This is bullshit, I mean..."

I looked to my right and saw Brad walking towards us. "Hey, Sam, shut up for a second, okay?"

"What?" Sam barked. "Don't tell me to shut up!"

"Busy, Sam!" I responded before walking over to Brad. I really wanted to bound across the hallway and leap into his arms, but that would be a little bit too forward, wouldn't it? He surprised me by hugging me tightly and planting a fierce kiss on my lips.

"Hey, gorgeous," he murmured into my ear. I grinned as I felt my stomach flip flop.

"Hi..." I said shyly.

"How's your day been going so far?" he asked, interlacing our fingers. Wow. Brad was pretty affectionate, but never THIS affectionate! Sam's advice had worked like a charm!

"Better, now..." I trailed off.

"So is everything set for the par-" Brad mumbled the rest as I clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh! Sam doesn't know!" I said in a low voice. "It's a surprise!"

"Okay, fine. Well, is everything ready?"

"Uh-huh. Freddie's taking Sam to the doctor and then they're gonna go have 'private time'..." I paused, making air quotes with my fingers. "And then he'll bring Sam over and then...surprise!"

"Did Freddie actually say private time?" Brad asked, amused.

"Well, no, but...come on, it's Sam and Freddie, as soon as that cast's off they'll probably start doing it right on the exam table."

"True," Brad said with a shrug. "Do you need me to grab anything after school?"

"Well...do you wanna go with me and pick stuff up so I don't have to get Spencer to go with me?" I asked.

"Sure, I'd love to." Brad responded, giving my arm a squeeze. "I gotta go to class, I'll see you later." He kissed me before turning to walk away, looking over his shoulder to give me a quick wave. I wanted to explode with happiness!

~*Freddie*~

"Did you see that shit?" I barked. "What happened? You were invisible last year!"

Sam gave me a death glare before punching me in the arm. "So were you, nub!"

"Exactly! That's what I'm saying!" I responded, throwing my hands up in frustration. "And now the jocks are looking at you like you're a piece of meat! And the cheerleaders..."

"Are all over you!" Sam finished. "You're right, this is weird..." she paused, frowning for a second, before her gaze turned to Gibby.

"Gibby!" she bellowed. "Get over here!"

Gibby looked at her fearfully. "What'd I do?" he cried, cowering slightly.

"Why would a cheerleader want to sleep with Freddie?" she responded.

"Uhhh..." Gibby stumbled over his words for a second, looking at me. "Because you have...beautiful...eyes?"

I gave him a look that was half-incredulous, half-disgusted. "What? Dude, don't ever look at my eyes again! That's not what she meant!" I snapped. "Look, all I know is last year I was invisible to girls, she was invisible to all those jocks unless she was beating them to a pulp...and now...well...look!" I pointed to the group of 'popular kids' that were gaping at us.

"I don't...know...I..." Gibby mumbled, looking at the floor.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, annoyed.

"I'm averting my eyes!" Gibby shouted. "He told me not to look!"

"Gibby!" Sam yelled. "This is serious! What the hell is going on?"

"I dunno...like...forbidden fruit?"

I looked at Sam, a confused expression on my face, who seemed equally confused.

"Wait, what do you mean forbidden fruit?" Sam asked.

"Like...you're both off the market, so it'd be like a challenge...you know..."

"What?" Sam yelled. "Alright, fuck that, this cast comes off in just a few hours, so tomorrow, I'm crackin' skulls!"

I put my arm around her, pulling her to me before kissing her. "There's no need for any of that, Sam...I don't want anyone else. Just you." I kissed her again. "Am I gonna have to beat the shit out of any jocks?"

"First of all," Sam said with a grin. "I'm glad that you CAN beat the shit out of jocks now, I think it's really sexy. Secondly," She leaned in to my ear to whisper huskily. "I know none of those assholes could come close to doing what you do to me..."

I groaned. "Just wait...after we go to the doctor...and I get you home...I'm gonna do all kinds of dirty things to you."

"Guys, standing right here!" Gibby hollered.

"Hey Sam!" Brad yelled, walking towards us. "Gotta get to class, but you...are awesome! I feel like I need to send you a thank you card or something!"

"Uh...thanks, but...why?" Sam asked. Brad smirked at her.

"The little lesson you gave Carly last night? I owe you...I owe you mucho. Later guys!"

Sam and I looked at each other, amused.

"He's not as dumb as he looks," Sam commented.

"No, he's really not," I replied. "Come on, baby. A few more hours, doctor appointment, and then..." I reached around her to give her luscious ass a good squeeze.

The day seemed to go on forever. All I could think about was getting the okay from the doctor and then being able to take Sam home and do all the dirty things I'd been wanting to do to her for six weeks. Sure, we'd been making due with slow, gentle lovemaking sessions, Sam on top, taking things slow so I wouldn't hurt her...or sometimes so she wouldn't hurt herself...but what I really wanted to do was throw her on our bed and literally tear her clothes off, to go back to the way things were...passionate, furious, fiery. I wanted to make her scream and I wanted her to bite me and leave nail marks on my back, I wanted to slam her against the wall and fuck her senseless. It'd been a long time since we'd been able to do that, too long.

I swear I must have come close to hurting her good arm, I dragged her out to the parking lot so fast. She laughed at me as I pressed the unlock button for my car repeatedly.

"Someone's in a hurry to get the okay from Dr. Robert," she said as she hopped in the passenger seat.

"You have no idea," I growled. "He's gonna get that cast off you, hopefully give us the okay on your ribs, and then...it's on."

Sam pretended to be oblivious. "What's on?"

"Well, not your clothes, that's for sure," I mused, my hand going to her thigh and squeezing it. "Good thing mom's working late, because...she might think I'm hurting you."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Because I'm gonna make you scream your head off, baby," I responded simply. Her eyes widened, and I knew all sorts of dirty thoughts were going through her pretty blonde head.

"...and what makes you think I won't turn around and do the same thing to you?"

My hand continued to move up and down her thigh, getting closer and closer to my intended target. "If you think you'll be able to turn the tables, be my guest."

"So it's on then?" Sam asked with a grin. I smiled, biting my bottom lip. Oh yeah, that's what I was missing. The game.

"Yeah, it's on."

"Parameters?"

"Don't hold back," I replied.

"Okay. You too."

My hand rubbed between her legs, and she jumped a bit, gasping, before removing my hand. "Game's not started yet."

"Yeah, well, as soon as we get in the apartment?"

"You're a dead man," she said with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Bring it on, baby."


	31. Chapter 31: Twist and Shout

**A/N: Naughty, naughty, naughty. So very naughty. Bad Freddie.**

**Chapter Thirty One  
><strong>**Twist and Shout**

~*Freddie*~

Bang!

The front door slammed against the wall as I pushed Sam in, my arms going around her waist and kissing her roughly. She growled, her now cast-free arm going to the back of my head and yanking on my hair. I hissed in a mixture of pain and pleasure. God, I fucking loved this. I loved how rough she could be, and I loved the fact that we officially had the okay to go back to being that rough. I kicked the door shut with my foot before ripping at her shirt, buttons flying this way and that.

"Jesus, Freddie!" she gasped. "I love that shirt!"

"I'll fucking buy you another one," I responded before picking her up and sitting her down on the counter top, pulling her shirt down over her shoulders, kissing her neck, licking and sucking on her collarbone. She moaned, her head hanging back, giving me even more access to her sensitive throat. Her head lifted suddenly, and she put her hands on my chest, pushing me back.

"Wait!" she cried.

"What? What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" I asked in alarm. Shit, this was not going the way I wanted.

"Nope," she responded before hopping off the counter and rushing to the fridge, yanking it open and sticking her head inside. I went from concerned to pissed off, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the fridge before shutting the door and pushing her against it.

"You are NOT going to blow me off for food, Sam!"

"Freddie!" she whined. "Come on! I'm STARVING!"

"Yeah?" I responded, my eyebrows raising. "Me too!" With that, I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder, walking into the bedroom and tossing her on the bed. I waited for a sign of some sort that I had hurt her, but it never came. Good. Game on. She sat up quickly, glaring at me.

"You are going to buy me a giant meatball sub after this is over," she warned.

"I will buy you an entire sandwich shop after this is over, Sam. Now shut up and let me love you," I responded, before pushing her down into a lying position and coming over top of her.

~*Sam*~

Oh my god.

Freddie wasn't exaggerating when he said he was going to make me scream my head off! He had me completely naked before he had even bothered to take his shirt off. Normally I loved naked Freddie, I wish I could enact some law requiring him to be shirtless at all times, but the fact that I was naked and he was still fully-dressed...that was SO hot. I felt completely exposed and a little bit vulnerable and like he was in complete control...which he was. He'd been holding back for awhile, taking things slow, but I could tell every time we'd made love in the past two weeks that he just wanted to completely ravage me. He would definitely get his chance today, and there was little I could do about it. Oh my god, this is hot!

He was kissing me all over my body, holding himself up with his hands. Just kissing. It was driving me crazy. My mouth, over my neck, my collarbone, my chest, my stomach, my thighs, and then back up. Just. Kissing.

"Freddie..." I moaned, arching into him a little bit.

"What's wrong, baby?" he murmured against my skin, continuing to kiss me.

"You're driving me crazy!" I cried.

"Yeah?" he asked, lifting his head to look at me. "Am I?"

"You know you are!" I gasped as he suddenly rubbed against me. "God..."

"You want more?" he responded.

"Yes!" I moaned. "Please!"

"Please what?" he asked, rubbing against me again.

"You're gonna make me beg for it?" I whined.

"Every. Single. Thing." he responded, a mischievous smile on his face.

Oh, that fucker! I started thinking about all the ways I was going to get back at him, but he ripped me out of my thoughts by planting a kiss directly on the most sensitive part of my body.

"Ah!" I cried, arching my back. "Freddieee..." He knew exactly what he was doing, he wanted to drive me so crazy I wouldn't be able to think. If I couldn't think, I couldn't formulate a plan, and if I couldn't formulate a plan, I was fucked! In every sense of the word!

"Something wrong?" Another kiss, right on THAT spot. Oh my god.

"Freddieeeee," I whined. "Oh god..."

"Whaddya want, baby?" he asked, nibbling on the spot right next to my womanhood.

"God...I want your mouth...right there...please..." I panted. I knew if I didn't acquiesce, if I didn't feed his ego, he could torment me like this for hours without even getting bored.

"Right where?" Oh god, I was going to KILL HIM.

"Fuck! Freddie! You know where, dammit!" I gave up trying to be nice and caught him off-guard by holding the back of his head and thrusting my pelvis into his face. He pulled his head back suddenly, growling.

"Oh, so you think you're in control, huh? That's interesting. We'll try this a different way then." He grabbed my hips roughly, pulling me forward, before his mouth found me. I gasped, arching into him as I felt his tongue run up and down my sensitive core.

"God, Freddie!" I moaned. "I love your tongue..."

"I want you to do something for me," he said, pausing to kiss my thigh.

"What?" I asked, gasping.

"Count." he responded, forcing my thighs apart further with his hands and licking a slow trail upwards before circling around my clit, flicking at it a bit with his tongue.

"Count?" I asked nervously, trying to keep my mind on what he was saying without losing myself in the feelings.

"Mmm-hmmm." he responded. "Count how many times I make you explode. You obviously don't like the idea of begging for what you need. So instead of making you beg me to do something..." he lifted his head and gave me a look that was almost evil. "I'm gonna make you beg me to stop."

Oh, shit. That was the last clear thought that went through my head before Freddie lowered his head back down and began subjecting me to the sweetest torture a person could ever experience.

~*Carly*~

"So have you even heard from Freddie or Sam yet?" Spencer asked me as I sat on the couch waiting for Brad to show up.

"No," I responded casually. "But I mean, they're probably...you know." I made a circle with my thumb and forefinger on one hand and moved my pointer finger on the other in and out of the circle repeatedly. Spencer gave me a disgusted look and a disgusted noise to go right along with it.

"Nice visual, kiddo. But yeah, I'm sure. So...okay, let me get a few things straight about this party...how many people?"

"I don't know, like twenty-five, thirty tops," I replied. "Are you gonna do what I asked you to do or not?"

"This is so against my moral boundaries, but...here ya go." Spencer produced a huge paper bag which he sat on the coffee table, and I leaned forward to begin poking through it.

"What's the point of having moral boundaries if you keep breaking them, Spence?" I asked, pulling bottles out of the bag. Spencer shrugged.

"Good point. But if any parents find out about this, you did not get the alcohol from me, got it?" Spencer replied. "And don't try to blame it on Sam or Freddie either, unless you want their emancipation to get revoked."

"They can do that?" I asked. "Oooh what's this? Sour Apple schnapps? Hell yea!"

"Yes, they can do that!" Spencer snapped. "If they break the law! That includes underage drinking! Okay, I'm out for the night, poker night with Socko's grandmother." I gave him a weird look.

"Wait, let me finish looking through this," I said. "Vodka, tequila, light rum, dark rum, ooh Jack Daniels, goldschlagger...what's jagermeister?"

"Oh, careful with that one. It makes stupid people do really stupid things," Spencer warned me. "And I'm not cleaning up any vomit!"

"In that case I'll be sure to hide this from Gibby," I responded, sticking it underneath a couch cushion. "Okay, what are good mixers for all this?"

"Make sure you at least have orange juice, club soda, maybe lemon-lime soda, Peppy Cola...oh, and keep an eye on the damn cheerleaders, mixing any of that with diet soda is going to get them absolutely trashed. And above all, RESPECT THE NOISE ORDINANCE!" Spencer yelled.

My hands went up defensively. "Fine! We'll respect the noise ordinance! Jeez, Spence. Settle down, would ya? Like you never got drunk in high school? This is a very special occasion. We're celebrating Sam's return to normality, and we are going to have a good time if it's the last thing I ever do," I replied.

Spencer stared at me for a moment. "Okay, fine. But one more thing."

"What's that?"

"You and Brad stay out of your bedroom while you're drunk, okay?" Spencer chided me. "I see that hickey, and I'm not cool with it!"

"Spencer, I'm not gonna have sex with Brad while I'm drunk!" I snapped, irritated. "Give me some credit!"

"They don't call Jager the panty-dropper for nothing, kiddo," he responded simply. "I'm out, have fun, but not too much fun!" he pointed at me before heading to the door, pulling it open to reveal Brad, his arm lifted and poised to knock.

"Uh...hey...Spencer," Brad said awkwardly. "How's it going?"

"No more hickeys!" Spencer said pointedly. "And stay away from the Jager!"

"Spencer, for the love of..." I started, but Spencer caught me off.

"I mean it! No one likes a slut!"

Brad cleared his throat, looking at the floor, and I continued to glare at Spencer.

"What?"

"You're wearing a t-shirt that says I Love Sluts, Spencer!" I said.

"Yeah, it was a gift!"

"From who?"

"Socko's grandmother! I gotta go, I'm late...behave!"

I rolled my eyes, my back falling against the couch as Spencer shut the door. "Finally!" I cried. "Sorry about that."

Brad shrugged. "Tell Sam you need a lesson on covering up hickeys."

"Oh I will," I responded. "Okay, got all the alcohol!" I said with a big smile on my face, gesturing to the smorgasbord in front of me.

"Wow, that is a shit-ton of hooch," Brad said, staring at the bottles like someone who had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. "A lot of hooch."

"Mmm-hmm," I said with a grin. "This is gonna be SUCH an awesome party!"

"So what do we need to get?" Brad asked, sitting down next to me.

"Um, sandwich stuff, chips, drink mixers, probably limes and lemons, uhhh baked goods...what are you doing?" I asked suddenly as Brad began kissing the side of my neck.

"Nothing," he replied, grabbing my chin and turning my head so he could kiss me. I gave in quickly, wrapping my arms around his neck, allowing his tongue entrance. I moaned softly as our tongues tangled, feeling his hands go to my lower back and push my shirt up to feel my skin. This was so nice. I loved the way Brad kissed me, he was so sweet and not pushy at all. Part of the reason I had been holding back for so long was because I had no clue what I was doing, and I worried about Brad expecting too much too soon, but it wasn't like that all. He was gentle, soft, romantic...oh man I loved this. It made me feel happy and scared and dizzy and on top of the world all at the same time.

But suddenly, he broke contact, leaping off the couch. I frowned, wondering if I had done something wrong.

"Brad? What-"

"You got any jello mix?" he asked as he walked to the kitchen and began rifling through drawers and cabinets.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, confused.

"I have a brilliant idea. Get that vodka. I wanna get this done really quick and then go to the store."

"What are you up to?" I asked. Jello and vodka didn't sound like a very good combination.

"Carly," he said pointedly. "You've never had a jello shot before?"

"No...come to think of it, I've never really had any kind of shot...I've only drank alcohol like...three or four times..."

"Oh man. You are gonna love this then. Imagine all the kick of straight vodka, with none of the alcohol taste." he said.

I stared at the vodka bottle for a moment before standing up and rushing the bottle over to him. "Okay, I'll get the jello. Strawberry or raspberry?"

"Carly, please." Brad said. "Don't be naïve. We need both."

~*Freddie*~

"God...Freddie...Freddie...Freddieeee...AAAH!"

I pulled away from my place between Sam's legs, moving up her body to kiss her passionately as I grabbed her legs and wrapped them around my body. She was like a ragdoll, allowing me to move her body into whatever position I wanted her to be in. I was wearing the poor girl out, and I was having the time of my life doing so.

"How many is that, baby?" I asked, kissing her neck. I smirked as a series of unintelligible noises emitted from her throat. "You okay?" I taunted. She didn't respond, just continued to moan.

"I asked you a question, baby..." I murmured, lowering my head to lick at her breasts. "How many times?"

"Uhhh...four..." she panted breathlessly.

"Hmmm...I dunno if that's enough...do you?" More moans.

Oh man, I was enjoying this. To me, there was nothing hotter than watching her let go. I'll be honest, the sudden interest in Sam from other guys was beginning to make me nervous. I knew it was mostly because Sam had officially become "forbidden fruit" but it didn't change the fact that it made me jealous as hell, and I wanted to remind her that there wasn't a single guy at Ridgeway that could make her feel the way I did. I was going to spend the entire night reminding her, until she begged me to stop, or until Carly started banging on my door because we were late. Whatever came first.

My mouth moved to her ear, licking right behind it before biting at it, loving the way it made her shiver.

"Do you want me inside you?" I murmured. "Hmmm?"

"Yes..." she whispered. "God, yes..."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah..."

"Tell me, baby." I said, grinding my hips against her. I was hard as steel right now, and I angled myself in just the right way so that every tiny movement of my hips would rub me against her over sensitized clit. She moaned, burying her face in my shoulder. If I played it right, I could get her to explode before I even got inside her, just rubbing against her like this. However, if I played it wrong, I would explode too, which I didn't want. I wanted to keep her going all night, holding off on my own release until the very end. She continued to moan, which excited me, but I wanted to hear her beg for it. One hand went to her chin, tipping it up and forcing her to look me in the eye.

"Tell me what you want."

"Uhhh...Freddie..." she moaned. "I want you inside me..."

"Yeah?" I asked, grinding harder.

"Yes! Please...baby..." she bucked against me.

"You want me...here?" I asked as I thrust inside of her quickly.

"Aaaah!" She bit my shoulder so hard I was sure she had drawn blood. I hissed in pain, but continued to pump in and out of her. God, she felt so good. She was wet and hot and tight and I could feel her entire body shaking underneath me. That's what I had missed, being in control, being able to let go without fearing I would hurt her. By the sounds she was making, the way she was breathing, the way she contorted against me, I knew she wasn't in any kind of pain at all.

"You like that?" I asked her before kissing her neck.

"God, yes..." her nails dug into my back. Fuck, yes...is it really twisted to say I loved the way she hurt me like this?

"Yeah? Do I make you feel good?" Is it really twisted that my ego depends on how many orgasms I can rip out of her body?

"So good! God...Freddie!"

"Can anyone else make you feel like this?" God, is my ego really this fragile? Fuck, who cares, it felt good, and so did she!

"No!"

"Anyone?" Slam! I thrust into her hard and she cried out, biting me again.

"No! Just you!" Fuck yes! I loved hearing her say that!

"Anyone else fuck you the way I do?" Whoa, where'd that come from? I could tell by the way I felt her suddenly clench around me that the way I was talking to her was turning her on. Okay, I can do this. I can definitely do this.

"No! Oh, god...Freddie...fuck!"

"Say it again!" Bam!

"What?"

"Say my name!" Cliché, but WHO CARED?

"Freddie!"

"Again!" Could be pushing it too far now, we'll see. If Sam were to smack me right now for trying to "be a man", I wouldn't blame her, but if she didn't...oh man. I loved this.

"Freddie! Oh, god!" I felt her begin to shudder around me.

"You gonna come, baby?"

"Uhhh...Freddie!"

"Huh? You gonna come?" I moved my hips in a frantic circle. "Come for me, baby...come for me!"

"Freddie!" Her back arched suddenly and I felt her walls clench around me uncontrollably.

"Yeah, there you go...good girl..." I said in a low voice, kissing her. "How many is that?"

"Oh god...five..."

"Mmm...we're not done yet..."

She whimpered, unsure if she could handle any more. "Freddie, I can't..."

"Yeah, you can baby...and you will..." I said. I sat back on my knees, grabbing her hips and pulling them upwards, all her weight balancing on her sensitive g-spot. One hand went to rub her swollen clit, and she jerked uncontrollably. I held her hips tight, working her against me, watching her hands grip the sheets and her eyes roll back in her head. In no time at all, I had her exploding again. I groaned, feeling my own orgasm right around the corner, struggling to hold on as long as I could. Fuck, I can't hold back anymore.

"Shit," I hissed, pulling out of her and quickly replacing my manhood with my fingers to continue pleasuring her.

"FREDDIE! Oh, god..." she cried out, her body shaking. I bent down to lick at her sweet nipples, and she gasped, her fingers gripping my hair. "Yes...yes...fuck...YESSSS!"

"Seven," I murmured, thrusting inside her again, my resolve back where it started. "Let's go for eight..."

"Oh god, no..." she moaned. "Not again...FUCK!" She cried out, grabbing at my shoulders. Guess I hit a good spot.

"Yeah, you like that, don't you baby?"

"Oh god, Freddie...fuck...Ohhhhhhh..."

"You gonna go again for me, baby?" I whispered in her ear. "Come for me...come on."

"Oh...oh...Freddie...Fr-Freddie...oh god...oh, GOD! Aaaah!" she let out a high pitched shriek as she came all over again. Yesss! I kept true to my word, I was making her scream her head off, and I loved it. Okay, this sounds kind of sick, but let's face it, Sam and I were fiercely competitive, and it extended into the bedroom. I had her exactly where I wanted her, just like I said I would, and I hadn't given up an ounce of control. Once I got her to the point she couldn't take anymore, I was truly going to WIN. I leaned down, kissing her passionately.

"Mmmm, you're so sexy...I love it when you do that..."

"Aaah, Freddie...please...please...oh god..."

"What do you want, baby?" I asked, thrusting in and out of her slowly.

"I...I can't take it anymore...oh my god...this is too much...AAAH!" she cried out as I thrust in deeper all of a sudden.

"So do you give up?" I asked, licking and sucking on her beautiful breasts. She groaned, bucking against me. She hadn't expected me to bring that up, but I wanted a straight-forward answer. If she wouldn't give it to me, I would literally fuck it out of her.

"Sam," I said in a firm voice, slamming into her. "I asked you a question. Do you give up?"

"I...oh god...NO!" She cried out defiantly. I shrugged.

"Okay, we'll go for ten then," I responded, bringing my hand down to rub at her probably painfully sensitive clit.

"Aaaah!" she shrieked. "God...Freddie!"

I ignored her, continuing to pump in and out of her fiercely, bringing her over the edge once more.

"One more, and if you don't give in, I'm bumping the number up to twelve," I threatened, before grabbing her hair and pulling her head back so I could lick over her throat. I could feel her pulse pounding through her neck. It was so fast, so intense I was sure it could give a regular person a heart attack.

"Shit! I can't take it anymore!" she dug her nails into my back hard now, and I could tell she was trying to get me to back off. I was so high on endorphins and the rush that I always got from making love to Sam I could barely feel it. She continued to dig her nails in before dragging them down my back, and I hissed. Fuck, I felt that! I grabbed both of her arms, pinning them above her head.

"Be nice," I growled, biting at her ear hard enough to cause a slight amount of pain. "Do you give up?"

"NO!"

"Fine." I went back to my task of fucking her senseless, feeling her getting close again. I could feel her legs tightening around my waist, her thighs trembling, her breathing labored. This was the hottest fucking thing ever.

"Freddie..." she whined. "Fuck...baby...I...OKAY! I give! I give!" I let go of her arms and kissed her passionately.

"Good," I responded, picking up my pace.

"Freddie!" she cried out. "I give!"

"One sec," I grunted, feeling my own body begin to lose control. "My turn. God...Sam...ohhh...shit...SAM!" I yelled as I felt my orgasm overtake me. It was the most intense thing I had ever felt in my life. It was almost scary it was so intense. I'd been holding out for over an hour, and...oh god I couldn't think. I couldn't move. Fuck. I muttered a string of unintelligible curse words against her neck before collapsing on her for a moment, then rolling off to lay down next to her, struggling to catch my breath.

"Shit," I said. "That was so good." I leaned over and kissed her softly. She kissed me back, but seemed a little out of it. "You okay?"

"I think you almost killed me," she responded. "Oh my god. I don't even...oh my god." She blinked, staring up at the ceiling vacantly. "I love you," she finally said. "I missed having you fuck my brains out."

"I love you too," I murmured, pulling her against me and wrapping her arms around me. "And guess what?"

"What?"

"I win," I whispered huskily in her ear. She growled, glaring at me.

"I hate you. Go make me a sandwich."

"What? I just fucked you for over an hour, I can't get up!"

"You got five minutes, nub." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, but while I'm doing that, get your sexy ass in the shower. We have somewhere to be soon." I sat up.

"Oh my god!" Sam clapped a hand over her mouth.

"What? What's wrong?"

"It looks like you got attacked by a werewolf! Oh, baby, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...I just...shit. I lost control..." Sam said, sounding upset. I walked over to the mirror, turning around to look at my back, and sure enough, my neck and shoulders had more than their fair share of bite marks, and my back had been scratched up to shit!

"Nah, definitely not a werewolf. I did get attacked by a wildcat though," I responded, grinning at her.

"So...so you're not mad at me?"

"Uh, hell no! These are badges of honor, when Brad and everyone else sees that I made you lose control to the point you made me bleed...I'm gonna be a sex god!" I said. Sam groaned, tossing her stuffed bunny she had inexplicably named Nosferatu at me and hitting me in the head with it. I glared at her, pretending to be mad.

"Oh you are dead!" I yelled, before jumping on the bed and tickling her furiously.

~*Carly*~

"Where the hell are Sam and Freddie?" I barked, annoyed. The party had been in full-swing for over half an hour and they still weren't here! "I go through all this trouble, I have enough alcohol to kill a herd of elephants, and they're still NOT HERE!"

"Carly, chill!" Gibby said. "They'll be here soon, I'm sure. They're probably still sexing it up."

"Gibby! Shut up! Go do another shot or something!"

"Okay! Whoooo! Shots!" Gibby yelled, running towards the kitchen. I rolled my eyes.

I was just about to go across the hall and find out what was going on, before I heard a loud knock at the door. I bounded over, pulling it open, to reveal Sam and Freddie. Freddie seemed fine, but Sam looked...well she looked out of it.

"Finally!" I yelled, glaring at Freddie. "You're late."

"I was BUSY," he said pointedly. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever...Sam are you okay?" I asked. "You look...out of it...are you drunk?"

"Yeah, love-drunk," Freddie responded with a mischievous grin on his face that I didn't want to ask about.

"I'm fine, Carly," she responded with a goofy smile on her face. "Look!" She held up her arm, which was free of the cast, somewhat sickly looking, but then again, it had been unused in six weeks. "I'm freeee!"

"Aaah!" I yelled, hugging her. "Get in here, you guys! Look!"

"You didn't tell me you were having a party!" Sam said excitedly, snapping out of whatever spell she had been under. "Oh my god, this place is packed, where's Spencer?"

"Out. For the night!" I said. "And this isn't just any party, it's a CAST AWAY party!" I yelled, bouncing up and down. Sam beamed.

"Oh my god! I love you Carls!" she cried, throwing her arms around me.

"Oh, Spencer did leave you a present!" I said, grabbing her arm and leading her through the sea of people. "Since it's a Cast Away party and all." I grabbed the volleyball that was sitting on the kitchen counter and held it up for her to see. She stared for a moment, perplexed, until she noticed the painted red face splattered across the ball, and a grin spread across her face.

"WILSON!" she yelled dramatically, snatching the volleyball out of my hands. "Oh my god, this is classic!"

"And...we have booze," I said mischievously. "All kinds of booze."

"Oh you are kidding," Sam said. When I shook my head no, she clamped down on my arm. "Shots! Now! What do you have?"

"Oh...everything!" I responded. "Tequila, vodka, rum, jager..."

"Jesus, Carly! Jager?" She wrinkled her nose. "Not quite ready for that yet. But...tequila. Definitely tequila."

"Okay," I responded, grabbing the tequila bottle, some shot glasses, and two limes. "What do we toast to?" I asked as I poured the shots.

"Hmm." Sam looked across the room at Freddie, who was talking to Brad and showing him his back. I had no idea what that was about, but it had to be some weird guy thing because Brad suddenly high-fived him. "How about...double dates..and double vision?" She grinned at me.

I nodded. "I'll drink to that!"

"Holla!" Sam yelled before we both started throwing back shots.


	32. Chapter 32: The Fool on the Hill

**A/N: So much fun writing this. Provocative material with a nice little dramatic twist at the end!**

**Chapter Thirty Two:  
>The Fool on the Hill<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"Gibby, that's way too many shots. There's no way you can do all of those and not throw up," I warned as I watched Gibby line up a shot of every alcohol available.

"Wh'trre youuuu, myyy muther?" Gibby slurred, shoving me out of the way.

"Dude, this is a bad idea!" Brad warned. "You're gonna ralph!"

"I ain't gonna stinkin' ralph!" Gibby yelled. Brad's hands went up, signaling he had given up and no longer cared whether Gibby puked or not.

"Shut up, I wanna see this shit!" Sam yelled at us. "In fact, why don't we up the ante a little bit?" She turned around, the decibel of her voice suddenly raising. "Anybody got a lighter?" Someone threw her one and she caught it effortlessly.

"A lighter?" Carly asked fearfully. "What for?"

"Ohhhh...YES!" Brad shouted suddenly, thrusting his fist in the air. "Forget what I said, I wanna see this too!"

Brad and Sam gave each other a look that implied they knew what was going on, leaving me and Carly to exchange looks that implied that we didn't have a clue.

"FLAMING SHOTS!" Sam and Brad yelled.

"Brad!" I exclaimed. "When did you stop being the voice of reason?"

"When flaming shots became an option!" he yelled. "I am hereby taking the night off from all forms of responsibility. It ain't easy being the oldest of four kids and a cop's son, Benson! Lemme have my fun!"

"You guys are gonna set Gibby on fire," Carly warned. Sam shrugged, and I rolled my eyes.

"We have a fire extinguisher! It'll be fine!" Sam said. "Whaddya say, Gibs? You down?"

"FLAMING SHOTS!" he garbled. My head went in my hands. This was a very bad idea.

The party had been raging on for nearly two hours, and when you give a bunch of high school kids that much liquor, it becomes difficult to slow them down. There were probably fifty people cramped into Carly's apartment, and everyone was having a blast. I was pretty buzzed, but not buzzed enough to agree with giving anything to Gibby that involved fire. Or more liquor.

"Come on, hurry up and do it! I got arm wrestling to do!" Sam yelled, slamming her fist on the table. "Gotta make sure the gun's still in fighting shape!"

"Sam, don't re-break your arm," Carly warned. Sam glared at her.

"Re-break this!" She responded, before picking up one of the fiery shots, the Jack Daniels one, and throwing it back, making a face as she swallowed. "Waaaaarm!" She coughed a bit. "Wow, that stuff really has a kick!"

"Sam, be careful!" I yelled. "Don't get too wasted."

"Whatsa matter, baby? Can't keep up?" she challenged me tauntingly. I glared at her before quickly grabbing two of the flaming shots of the table and throwing back both of them, one after the other. Ugh, tequila and jagermeister. I was well on my way to getting absolutely trashed.

"You were saying?" I grunted. She grinned, bouncing up and down a little bit.

"Much better," she responded. "Come on, come watch me kick some ass in arm wrestling with my gimp arm!"

"Don't push yourself too hard," I warned.

"I won't!" she replied, grabbing my bicep. "Just come on!"

As we walked away, we heard Gibby yelling, "FLAMING SHOTSSSSS!" and then a sudden, short singeing noise, sort of a popping, hissing sound.

"AAAAH!"

I closed my eyes, my head hanging down. "Gibby's mustache?"

"Yep," Sam responded, looking over her shoulder, a concerned look plastered across her face. "He's been growing it out for like two weeks..."

"Guess he's gonna have to start over..."

"Yeah...probably."

I followed Sam over to the kitchen table, where a few guys were sitting, already in the throes of male bonding via arm wrestling. Sam stood there for a moment before suddenly shoving one of the guys out of his chair, making herself comfy as he clattered to the ground.

"What the hell Sam?" he grunted.

"Adam, I got both my arms now," she reminded him. "I will snap your neck like a dried twig." When Adam backed away, Sam put her elbow on the table, in the classic arm-wrestle position. "Okay, Caleb, right?" she said, eyeing the jock across the table from her.

"Yeah..." he trailed off. "I'm not gonna fight a girl."

"And I respect you for that, Caleb. But you're not fighting a girl. You are fighting a B.A.M.F. Do you know what a B.A.M.F. is, Caleb?"

"No..."

"It's a Bad Ass Mother Fucker. You in or are you too much of a pussy to arm-wrestle me?"

"You just got your cast off like five hours ago," Caleb pointed out.

"Yep. And I'm rarin' to go, so let's do the damn thing, Cay-Cay," she said in an accent that started out as country then suddenly switched to ghetto.

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Fine. This is too easy." He put his elbow on the table. "Adam!"

Adam approached cautiously, looking dazed still. "I'm here! What up?"

"Ref for us. Benson over here's just gonna rule in favor of the little woman," Caleb said, glaring at Sam. Sam glared right back.

"Freddie's not in a position to ref right now anyway," she shot back.

"Why, can't hold his liquor?"

"No, the poor boy's worn out from fucking me for two hours. He's like my own personal stallion. You know, cuz I ride him all the fucking time," she said, giving me a grin. I tried furiously not to blush, luckily my face was already red from alcohol consumption.

Caleb gave me a look. "Him?"

"Had me screaming my head off all afternoon. He can show the bite marks if you'd like. You wanna keep talking about how good my husband fucks me, or you want me to kick your ass in arm wrestling already?"

Caleb laughed. "Let's go, bitch," he responded, putting emphasis on the word 'bitch'. I saw Sam bristle up a little bit, but she said nothing, merely grabbed his hand and steadied herself.

"Adam," she said. "Call it!"

"Okay. Three...two...one...GO!" he yelled.

I was really worried that Sam's arm was gonna fracture again, but it didn't. As they both struggled for dominance, I suddenly became worried Sam would lose and it would put her in a funk for the rest of the night. He came damn close too, her arm only inches away from the table, before she finally did this weird maneuver that probably had something to do with her arm being broken in the first place. Her arm just locked into place suddenly and then I heard a pop right before she slammed Caleb's hand on the table.

"DAMN! PUCKETT WINS!" Adam yelled. "Dude she beat the shit outta you!"

Wham! Before Caleb even knew what was happening, Sam's closed fist suddenly shot across the table and planted itself right in the middle of his nose.

"Oh damn, dude!" Adam yelled, a few guys around us echoing his statement.

"That's for calling me a bitch, fucker! You're the bitch, you got your ass beat by my gimp arm! And you!" she turned to Adam, who ducked suddenly, cowering in front of the tiny 5'2 girl. "It's Benson now, not Puckett!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am!" he cried. "Don't hit me!"

She laughed in his face. "Pussy!" she said, before mock-bowing to the group of people who had watched the events take place. "And that, people, is how it's done! If you'll excuse me, I'm in need of a victory beer." she turned suddenly and walked away.

Caleb stood up suddenly, his hand still cupping his nose, glaring at me. "That shit was NOT cool!"

I shrugged. "You asked for it, man. Don't call her a bitch, and she won't break your nose."

"Man, fuck you!"

I took a step toward him. "I'd go clean that off if I were you...you don't wanna get your ass kicked by me while you're still bleeding from my wife's punch to face." With that, I simply turned around and walked away. I saw Sam sitting on the stairs with Carly and our friend Wendy, giving them a full replay of what just happened. I laughed, and started looking for Brad to tell him too.

~*Brad*~

"We're out of tequila!" Wendy yelled suddenly, holding the Jose Cuervo bottle upside down.

"Aw, damn it!" Sam yelled. "But hey, we still got our other liquor!"

"Yay!" Wendy and Carly cried.

I looked at Freddie, who was sitting on top of the counter next to me, and laughed, shaking my head. I had never seen Sam or Carly so...silly and frivolous. And for those two, that was saying a lot, but they were completely wasted. The party had cut down to about half the size it had been three hours ago, but that still meant there were almost thirty people here, and people were still having a blast. Nobody had vomited yet, not even Gibby, which was a good sign. Although his upper lip was bright red and hair-free. Okay, maybe the flaming shots weren't the best idea we'd ever had, but it was funny as hell! Too bad we were all underage, would have made a great thing to replay on iCarly. In slow motion.

"What do we do with the bottle?" Carly asked drunkenly, jerking the empty tequila bottle out of Wendy's hands. "Maybe we should recycle, so the...seagulls don't get caught in them."

Freddie and I started cracking up. "Those would have to be so damn small seagulls, Carly!" I told her. She glared at me.

"Dammit, Brad! You and your logic, I swear to god! I'm just trying to be creative, I- hey!" she cried as Wendy took the bottle back.

"We should play spin the bottle!" Wendy said excitedly.

"Spin the bottle, WHOOOO!" Gibby yelled, seemingly popping out of nowhere.

"No!" Freddie hollered. "Sam you are not playing that!"

"Carly, forget it!" I added. "No way!"

"But Brad!" Carly whined. "I wanna playyyyyy!"

"Relax, Fredward!" Sam yelled, plopping down on the floor next to Wendy and Gibby. "It's just a game!" With that, she put the bottle on the ground and gave it a hard spin.

"Yeah, but dammit, Sam, you're my wife, and..." he trailed off when he saw where the bottle was pointing, and looked at me in disbelief. My jaw dropped. No way. It couldn't be.

The bottle was pointed at CARLY.

I looked at Freddie, and he looked at me, both of us not wanting to speak first, trying to read the other's thoughts. I could tell he was trying not to grin like an idiot, and I was having the same problem.

"You know what," Freddie said with a wave of his hand. "Fuck it, it's just a game, right? Go ahead, Sam."

Sam glared at him. "Oh, so now you're okay with it? I don't think so, Freddie."

"Now, Sam!" I said in a stern voice, pointing at her before lifting my beer to my lips. "Rules are rules! And...where I come from...the rules say ten seconds."

"TEN SECONDS?" Carly and Sam yelled.

"You're making that up!" Carly said. I pretended to be shocked.

"Carly!" I gasped. "How dare you! I would never lie to you! Now, rules are rules, so you have to let Sam kiss you."

"Gosh, Bradley, when we had this conversation the other day, I do believe you mentioning that in spin the bottle the kiss is only considered a complete kiss when there's tongue involved, am I right?" Freddie asked me. I tried to hold back my grin so hard. I knew this guy was my partner-in-crime for a reason.

"Why yes, Fredward! You are in fact correct! So, Sam, with your new-found desire to be a good person and follow the rules, and Carly...you already being the wonderful girl that you are, the rules state that the kiss must last ten seconds, with tongue." I smiled triumphantly.

"You are so full of shit, Harrison," Sam growled at me.

"Rules are rules Sam!" Freddie pointed out. "Now kiss Carly!"

Sam rolled her eyes, turning to Carly. "They're not gonna shut up until we get this over with."

"Uhhh..." Carly trailed off. "I don't...think I'm drunk enough for this."

"Somebody get this girl a shot!" Freddie yelled, reaching behind him to grab the bottle of jagermeister. "Bet this well help!" He waved the bottle at her.

"Oh my god, you guys are such pervs!" Carly yelled. "You just wanna see me and Sam make out to fulfill your lesbian fantasy, and..." she trailed off, staring at the bottle Freddie was waving at her. It was hard for a drunk girl to turn down more alcohol. I knew it, and Freddie knew it. In fact, Freddie seemed to be banking on it.

"Oh, give me that!" Carly said, standing up to yank the bottle out of his hands and drinking the strong liquor straight from the bottle. "Oh wow, that's really strong."

"Counting on it..." Freddie leaned over to mutter in my ear. "Now kiss Sam!"

"Maybe they should take their shirts off..."

"GIBBY!"

"Okay, fine! Keep your shirts on, but I'm not gonna!" Gibby yelled before ripping his shirt off over his head and throwing it behind him. Carly glared at me.

"Get rid of him," she said.

"Gibby, get the fuck out of here. There's jello shots in the fridge." I said.

"Seriously? WHOOOO! SHOTSSSSS!" Gibby stood up suddenly and ran into the kitchen.

"Alright, Carly's drunk, so kiss her!" I yelled at Sam. "Do it now!"

Sam rolled her eyes, scooting closer to Carly, tossing her hair over her shoulders. Oh man, I couldn't believe I was about to see this. I would never admit it out loud, because let's face it, Freddie or Sam herself would kick my ass, but Sam was pretty hot, and Carly was incredibly gorgeous...and the idea of the two hosts of iCarly about to make out right in front of me...oh man. Best day ever.

"Ready?" Sam asked, staring at Carly, who shrugged.

"I guess?"

"Remember, ten seconds, and tongue!" Freddie reminded them. "Go!"

I swear to god, Freddie and I must have looked like two junior high girls at a Justin Bieber concert the way we gripped each other's arms and bounced excitedly on the counter. This was so hot!

Ever the dominant one, Sam grew tired of Carly's hesitation and simply grabbed her by the back of the head, planting a fierce kiss on her lips. Carly looked shocked for a second before her arms went around Sam's neck.

"Holy shit!" I yelled. "Okay, tongues!"

Sam and Carly would have yelled at us if their mouths hadn't been...uh...busy. But for ten seconds I was in absolute heaven watching Sam and Carly in an open-mouthed kiss. That right there would hold me over until college! They separated, glaring at us.

"Well?" Carly asked. I gave Freddie a look, and he nodded, before we both jumped off the counter.

"I need to talk to you, in your room," I said, grabbing Carly's arm and dragging her towards the stairs.

"And...I need to talk to you in the bathroom," Freddie said to Sam before dragging her away.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Freddie yelled over his shoulder.

"Fuck yeah, best day ever!" I yelled back.

"You da man!"

"Naw, dude, YOU da man!" I yelled before yanking Carly up the stairs.

~*Freddie*~

I had a huge grin on my face that would not come off. Today was probably the best day ever, like Brad had been hollering right after I watched my wife plant a big kiss on his girlfriend's lips. Oh man, that was hot. I had to yank Sam into the bathroom for a moment just to show her how hot I thought it was, bending her over the counter and yanking down her jeans before thrusting inside her. Oh man, doing it from behind was so hot, and being able to watch all the action in the mirror made it hotter. Too bad we lived with my mother, she probably wouldn't approve of me surrounding me and Sam's bed with mirrors.

I had been finished with Sam for all of five minutes before Carly came happily bounding down the stairs, with Brad close behind her. "Sam!" she hollered drunkenly. "Look what I did!"

Sam got up from her spot next to me on the couch and rushed over to them. "What?"

Carly pointed at Brad's neck. "Look!" she said proudly.

"Ow my face!" Brad yelled as Sam suddenly grabbed his chin, tilting his head back to examine the fresh hickey Carly had left on his neck.

"Oooh, nice execution, Shay," she said, studying it closely. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "Hmm...little less suction next time, a bit more tongue. Good job with the teeth marks though."

"I am so uncomfortable right now," Brad muttered awkwardly. I couldn't help but double over with laughter.

"Sam, let go of Brad's head!" I yelled, hopping over the couch to walk over and pry my wife off my friend. "We don't grab our interns faces!"

"Oh, fine," Sam said, letting go of him. "Carly...me...you...Wendy...that other chick she hangs out..."

"Bianca?"

"Yeah that one...Spades?"

"Ooh! I love Spades!" Carly said.

"Freddie I'm gonna go beat the girls' asses in spades, okay?" Sam asked, looking up at me before giving me a kiss.

"Sure thing, baby. Have fun."

I watched Sam and Carly walk away, not paying attention to anything except the way Sam's jeans hugged her ass, when Brad's hand clamped down on my arm. I jumped, alarmed.

"Dude, what the hell?" I snapped.

Brad looked around conspiratorially before pulling something from his pocket. "This. Come on, fire escape."

I sighed. "Please tell me that's a hand-rolled cigarette."

"Yeah, of wacky tobacky." Brad responded. "I swiped a little from the stash we planted in Sam's mom's trailer. Come on man, live a little."

I shook my head. "I dunno. I'm still not convinced my mom's not randomly taking samples out of the septic tank to test."

"Fine, then come with me, I'll smoke it, and you can watch."

"Fine, but I'm taking my beer," I responded.

"Sure thing, you rebel," Brad responded. "Let's go!"

I followed Brad out of Carly's front door, heading to the fire escape and climbing through the window before plunking down on the stairs.

"I still think this is a bad idea. You smoking on a public fire escape...of an apartment complex...the same complex you live in with your detective father!" I pointed out.

"Remember what I said? I'm taking the night off from responsibility!" Brad responded, pulling the lighter he had swiped from the flaming shot incident from his pocket. He flicked it on, preparing to light it, until...

"GIBBY! WHOOOO!" A drunken Gibby stuck his head out the window, scaring the shit out of Brad and causing him to drop the joint he was holding. He quickly dropped to his knees to grab it.

"Dammit, Gibby! Get your ass out here!"

"Brad, don't kill him," I warned. "He's just being Gibby. Very drunken Gibby."

"I'm not gonna kill him!" Brad looked at me like I was crazy. "I'm gonna get him baked so he'll mellow out!"

"What? No!" I reached forward and knocked the joint out of Brad's hands, and he glared at me.

"What the hell did you that for?" he snapped.

"You can't get Gibby high!" I yelled.

"Why the hell not?" he replied. "He's pissing me off!"

"The same reason you don't get dogs high, dumb ass! We don't know how a Gibby would react to ganja! Just look what the alcohol's doing to him! What if he gets three sheets to the wind and thinks he's a bird? Gibbys don't fly!"

"Hey!" Gibby yelled. "I'm standing right here! I wanna get high, now gimme the joint!"

"No!" I yelled, picking it up.

"Give me the damn joint, Freddie!" Brad yelled.

"Forget it!" I yelled back. "You guys haven't even smoked yet and you're fiending already!"

"Yo Benson!" I heard a voice call, and I turned around to see Adam, Caleb, and that stupid kid Colin that had hit on Sam this morning coming out the window of the fire escape. I shoved the joint in my pocket before crossing my arms.

"Can I help you?" I asked, glaring at them.

"Maybe," Caleb responded. "Just wanna ask you a question."

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked impatiently.

"What's it like wearing the skirt?"

"Excuse me?" I replied.

"You heard me. Your little wifey obviously wears the pants, so that must mean you wear the skirt."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to keep my anger in check.

"She doesn't really wear much of anything around the apartment, if you know what I mean."

"So that's why you married her. Must be a great lay." Caleb observed, nodding a bit.

"Oh shit...danger Will Robinson..." I heard Gibby mutter to Brad.

"I'd shut the fuck up right about now if I were you," I threatened to Caleb.

"Or what? You gonna get your bitch of a wife to try and break my nose again, pussy?"

I took a step toward him, glaring. "See, there's your first mistake."

"What's that?"

"You didn't take my advice," I responded, before swinging and letting my right fist connect with his face.

~*Sam*~

"Eight books, just like I said!" I yelled victoriously. "Write that shit down!"

Carly cleared her throat. "Um, Sam...remember when I said you had dark gifts?"

"Yeah...why?" I asked, a confused expression on my face.

"Do you think there might be a...slight chance that you're in league with the devil?"

I huffed. "Well I told you I don't know who my father is, Carly!"

Carly glared at me. "Very funny." she responded.

I was sitting around the table with Carly, Wendy, and that Bianca chick, kicking everyone's ass in Spades as usual. Okay, so yes, technically we were paired off, but Carly's skills in Spades didn't hold a candle to mine, so I considered most of the wins to technically belong to me alone. The party was dwindling down, there were maybe fifteen people left. I had no idea where Freddie and Brad were, but they were probably somewhere, congratulating each other on their being able to talk me into kissing Carly. Stupid boys, did they not realize that by us kissing each other we'd gotten exactly what we wanted, which was to drive them crazy? I wondered if they would ever catch up.

"Okay, re-deal?" I asked brightly. Wendy and Bianca groaned.

"You've already beaten us like seven times in a row, Sam, I don't think..." Wendy was cut off by the front door flinging open and Gibby running inside.

"Guys! Guys! You have to come right now!" Gibby shouted, out of breath and obviously still very drunk.

"Gibby, where are your pants?" Carly asked, a horrified expression on her face. I looked down and grimaced. Gibby was indeed wearing nothing but a pair of Spongebob Squarepants boxers. Why did that not surprise me.

Gibby looked down before flinging his hands out in an "I don't care!" fashion. "I don't know, that's not important! Freddie and Brad are in a fight!"

"What?" I yelled, jumping out of my seat. "With who?"

"Caleb and Adam and Colin! You gotta see this shit man! Caleb mouthed off and Freddie decked him like Tyson!" Gibby said. "Come on!"

"Carly!" I yelled. "Come on!"

Carly pushed her chair back, sending it clattering to the floor before following me out the door, Wendy and Bianca not too far behind. We raced out to the fire escape, right behind Gibby. I shoved him out of the way before hopping through the window, and sure enough, there was my husband, in the middle of a fight, two on three.

Okay, I'll be honest. It was kind of hot. He was all sweaty now, pissed off, and I loved watching him throw a good punch because...come on, those biceps! I should really take a photo of them and keep it as my phone's screensaver, cuz...damn. Boy was gonna get a little extra loving tonight when we got home.

"Kick his ass, Freddie!" I hollered. Carly stuck her head through the window, a frightened expression on her face.

"Oh my god, Brad!" she cried. I shushed her.

"Dude, they spend like ten hours a week boxing, they got this!" I said to her. She nodded.

"Rip his head off Brad!" she screamed.

Yeah, Brad was holding his own, but Freddie was kicking Caleb's ASS. He'd already managed to take out Adam with a combo right to the guy's eye, and Adam was sprawled out on the fire escape floor. Man, he was a pussy! I thought the fight would be over and done with after Freddie left hooked Caleb across the face and he fell back onto the stairs, but then something happened I didn't expect. Caleb, that little fucking scuzzbucket, while sprawled across the stairs, managed to pull the ultimate in little bitch moves, especially for a guy.

He kicked my husband. In the balls. Hard. Before Freddie even had time to react, Caleb sucker punched him, and Freddie fell backwards.

"Oh, fuck that!" I yelled, before stepping right over Freddie and leaping across Caleb like a crazed beast. I knocked him back down onto the stairs and started pummeling his face with my fists. I wasn't a trained boxer, no, but I didn't need to me. I'd been in over two hundred fights since kindergarten, male, female, student, adult. I was not afraid of a fight, and I was going to KILL CALEB.

"You motherfucker!" I screamed, hitting him in the nose like I had earlier in the night. "Fucking pussy!" Bam! "You think you can get away with a nutshot and that's gonna be it?" Wham! "You don't kick my husband in the balls and walk away, I had plans for those this weekend, fucker!" I grabbed his shirt collar and just lost it, hitting him repeatedly before Brad managed to pull me off him.

"Sam! Sam! Calm down! He's down!" Brad yelled, his arms around me so I couldn't throw another punch. "He's down!"

I broke free suddenly, slapping Caleb right across the face. "I slapped you because you're a bitch!" I screamed before spitting in his face. I turned to Colin and Adam, my face twisted into a look of pure rage. "Get him out of here before I throw you off the balcony!"

I've never seen anyone drag an unconscious teenager through a fire escape window before, but damn they were fast, and knowing he was unconscious because I'd laid him out made it all the more entertaining. I turned around, kneeling down next to Freddie.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" he snapped. I pulled away in surprise.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Why'd you have to fucking do that, Sam? I could have handled it myself!"

"What?" I was beside myself with shock. "He got you down with a bitch move like that and you expect me to sit there and just watch that shit?"

"Yeah, I do!" Freddie said, standing up and wincing a little bit. "Because I'm taking shit already about you being tougher than me! And I'm having to deal with all these guys after you, and it's making me crazy! And now I can't even finish my own fights without you stepping in! Everyone thinks I'm your little whipping boy!"

"You almost beat a guy to death with a baseball bat! Of course you're tough!" I hollered, starting to get angry. "I was just trying to help."

"I can't exactly go around bragging about beating someone with a baseball bat, can I? I don't need your help, Sam! Dammit! I could have handled this!" he growled. "I'm not your bitch!"

"Then why are you acting like a bitch, Freddie?" I snapped.

"Oh god," I heard Carly mutter, her head in her hands. "Things were going so well..."

"You're the one acting like a bitch!" Freddie yelled back, inches away from my face.

SLAP! Before I could even control myself, I struck Freddie across the face. I sucked in a deep breath. Fuck, why did I do that? Shit! I didn't mean to, it just happened. Oh no. I've fucked up again.

"Did you slap ME because I'm a bitch?" he snapped, echoing what I'd said to Caleb. I shook my head.

"You know what? Fuck this. I don't need this shit." I turned to go back inside.

"Sam, where are you going?" Carly cried.

"I'm out, Carls. Thanks for the party!"

"But where are you going?" she yelled.

"I'll go find a hotel or something!" I called over my shoulder. "Later!"

With that, I popped in Carly's apartment real quick to get my bag, and then I was gone.

My temper had gotten me in trouble again. I loved Freddie, more than anything, but he had to keep going through drama after drama because of me. He didn't deserve any of this, and I didn't deserve him.


	33. Chapter 33: All You Need Is Love

**Chapter Thirty Three:  
><strong>**All You Need is Love**

~*Carly*~

I watched Sam walk down the hallway through the fire escape window before turning and glaring at Freddie.

"What?" he snapped.

I said nothing, just continued to glare at him, before finally snapping and beginning to hit him in the chest repeatedly.

"Freddie, you dumb ass!" I hollered, continuing to pummel him.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Brad yelled, grabbing me and pulling me off Freddie. "Okay, that's it! We obviously can't handle our booze! No more drinking! Calm the hell down Carly!" I guess Responsible Brad was back, but Sensible Carly had officially left the building. I was so angry I couldn't see straight.

"You are such a fucking IDIOT, Freddie! You dumb son of a bitch! I'm gonna kick your ass!" I yelled, ignoring the way everyone's eyes widened. Sam had a mouth like a sailor, Freddie had picked up swearing more and more from always being around Sam, and Brad could get pretty mouthy himself, but I rarely swore. I didn't care right now, I was fired up and pissed off!

"What the hell is your problem, Carly? This is none of your damn business!" Freddie yelled back. He had a cocky look on his face that made me want to go right back to pummeling him, but I resisted. Lucky you, Freddie.

"Fuck you, Freddie! Everything was back to normal and your damn ego had to get in the way like it always does!" I snapped. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Freddie's eyes blazed with anger. "I'm out here in a fight with a dude ABOUT HER and she comes out and makes it worse by not letting me finish it myself! How is that my fault?"

"Maybe we should go..." Gibby said, edging toward the window.

"No, you can stay. You can all stay! Everybody needs to hear this! We're gonna have a talk about Freddie and his fragile fucking ego!"

"My fragile ego? Are you kidding me? I don't need her jumping in my fight to protect ME, I can take care of myself!" Freddie shot back. "She takes over and dominates everything! It drives me nuts!"

"Bullshit, you LOVE IT!" I yelled. "You LOVE the fact that she's domineering! Otherwise you wouldn't have let her beat the shit out of you for five years! If you didn't love it you'd be dating some sweet little girl right now, instead you MARRIED her so she could boss you around for the rest of your life! You pretend to be so cocky and arrogant, but you're not! You think being like that makes you a man but it DOESN'T. You've been hanging out with those gym rats too much, Freddie! You love the way Sam treats you! You WANT the control. You LOVE the control!"

"You don't know shit Carly!" Freddie yelled. "Now shut up!"

"Oh, I don't know shit?" I grabbed his shirt collar, jerking it down. "Then what's this? How many bite marks do you have on you right now? If you didn't love it you wouldn't let her treat you like a goddamn chew toy!"

"You know what, that's none of your business! And that has nothing to do with this! I could have handled it myself, and she just had to jump in and take over and make me look even MORE like a pussy!"

"Oh my god, you DUMB ASS!" I screeched. "First of all, you got checked in the nuts by a steel toed boot, you weren't gonna just get up after that! Secondly, if you really think this is about YOU, you're even dumber than you look!"

Freddie looked confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Did it ever occur to you that Sam flipped out because if you were to suddenly, oh, I dunno, lose the ability to reproduce because some asshole kicked you in the balls it would ruin everything? Moron!" I hollered.

"Wait, what?"

I sighed, my head in my hands. Why are boys so dumb? "Are you that stupid that you don't know where sperm comes from? Even I know that!" I yelled. "She was perfectly content to watch you kick that guy's ass! She didn't even blink when he hit you in the face, but as soon as he pulled that she flipped out! Think about it Freddie!" I said pointedly.

Freddie was silent for a moment, the pieces finally fitting together. He shook his head slowly, still trying to maintain an element of control. God, both of them were OBSESSED with control. It was absolutely maddening!

"No. You're wrong. We've never talked about having kids."

That did it. I walked over to Freddie and smacked him upside the head, just for being that dense. "She's talked about it to me, you idiot!" I said harshly. "Like only every freaking day! How many kids, names, nursery colors, SCHOOL DISTRICTS! She can't wait until she's done with college so she can have your fucking baby, Freddie! She doesn't even know who her dad is, her mom's a piece of shit and in prison, she doesn't even speak to her TWIN sister, she just wants a normal family! With you! God you're so stupid!"

Freddie stood there for a minute, clearly trying to think things through. "Dammit," he finally moaned. "I am stupid. You're right Brad, no more alcohol."

"So we're getting rid of the alcohol then?" Brad said. "We've all agreed?" Freddie and I nodded.

"Can I have it?" Gibby asked suddenly.

"Gibby, you're not wearing any pants. Because of alcohol," Freddie pointed out.

"Okay, fine, but I did not break anyone's nose tonight, I did not get in any fights, I didn't hook up in Spencer's disgusting bathroom next to the peanut butter, I didn't nail anyone in the balls, I didn't swipe a joint from pilfered police evidence, and I didn't kiss a member of my own sex! If you ask me, I'm the level-headed one right now, pants or no pants!" Gibby yelled.

Brad, Freddie, and I all stared at each other, and Brad shrugged.

"He does have a point. Okay, Gibby. You win. You have can have the leftover alcohol stash."

"SHOTSSS! WHOOOO!" Gibby hollered before going back inside and running down the hallway. I sighed, running my hands through my hair.

"Somebody please find his pants!" I said. "I'm gonna go find Sam." I turned to walk back in before Freddie grabbed my shoulder.

"No, I'll find Sam," he responded. "This is my fault, I gotta fix it, and then...I'm done with alcohol."

"Good! And if you're a good boy, I'll get some ice for your balls," I responded evilly. He gave me a withering glare before going through the window and heading down the hall.

~*Freddie*~

I am never drinking again, I thought to myself as I stepped off the elevator.

When it comes to Sam, I usually get things. Pretty quickly too. I love knowing how her brain works, because there's nothing she can do that can get passed me. But I was so wrapped up in my own drunken tirade and proving my manhood that this latest issue had slipped right by me. Carly was 100% right, I'd been listening too much to what the guys around me had been saying. I didn't even know where it came from, I'd never really cared about what people thought in the past...

And this kid thing? Man that had caught me off-guard! We'd never talked about kids, not once, but I should have seen this one coming a mile away. Stupid Freddie. Still, it was kinda cool. Sam wanted to have my baby. I hadn't really thought about it before, but I guess that's what married people do, they have kids.

Of course, we probably needed our own place and a source of income before that happened, but the idea that Sam wasn't opposed to it and actually excited about it was...nice. I couldn't help but smile as I tried to imagine what Sam would look like pregnant.

I had other issues to take care of first though. Sam wasn't trying to cut my legs out from under me, she was trying to help me. I didn't even see it, I was just being a guy. A stupid guy.

"Hey, Lewbert, has Sam come through here?" I asked as I walked into the lobby.

He shrugged. "Courtyard. She makes too much noise!"

I ignored the second part, just gave him a nod as I walked by. I pushed open the double doors to the courtyard open, sticking my head out, to see Sam sitting on a bench, looking sad and forlorn.

"Hey," I said softly, sitting down next to her.

"Hi," she responded sadly. I took her hand in mine and we both stared at the grass for a minute.

"I'm sorry," I finally said. "I was being a dumb ass."

She shrugged. "How's your..." she gestured to my crotch area.

"A little sore, but I'll live," I replied, hugging her to me. "Don't worry, we can still have kids," I murmured in her ear. She pulled away, giving me a strange look.

"I talked to Carly," I explained. "Well, actually Carly yelled at me. A lot. And then started beating me."

"Really? Carly?" Sam asked, surprise. I nodded.

"Never heard her swear so much in her life, she threw out almost every word in the book at me. But there's something I need to ask you."

She looked at me cautiously, and I kissed her on her forehead before continuing. "How come you told Carly about this kid stuff and not me?"

She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "Oh my god!" she said. "I am going to kill her!"

"There's no need, Sam. She was just trying to explain a few things to me...albeit quite forcefully. Why haven't you talked to me about any of this?"

"I don't know...I...I just didn't wanna freak you out, that's all."

I laughed. "Sam, I married you. I committed felonies for you. There is nothing you could do that could freak me out. Just talk to me."

"I...really don't know what to say," she responded. "I mean, yeah, I freaked out when Caleb did that, I mean, I know that has to hurt really bad, and I didn't like watching you go down like that...and...yeah, I was worried it would affect a few things for our future! I wasn't trying to be in control, Freddie. I just...I wanted..."

I cut her off by kissing her fiercely. "I shouldn't have flipped out on you like that, I was really embarrassed, getting dropped like that because of a cheap shot, and in front of my wife! I was angry, I shouldn't have take it out on you. But...man you almost killed him!" I laughed, then my face grew serious. "I'm fine though. The family jewels are still intact. And, once we're done with college, we can have as many kids as you want. I know it's important for you to have a real family."

I thought that would be it, that everything would be resolved, but Sam surprised me by suddenly bursting into tears. Oh shit, what did I do now?

"Sam! Sam, talk to me!" I said, shaking her shoulders a bit. She shook her head, looking at the ground.

"I hit you, Freddie!" she sobbed. "I mean...I...I'm so fucking violent. Like my mom. Maybe I don't deserve children. What would I do with one if I had it? What if I turn out just like her, beating my kids? What if-"

"Sam, that's ridiculous! First of all, we were drunk, which...we gotta stop doing that, it only leads to bad things," I said, with a roll of my eyes. "Secondly, I intentionally pushed a button of yours that I know you have difficulty controlling."

"But you didn't MAKE ME hit you!" she cried. "I don't deserve to be with you! You're sweet, and good, and you take care of me, and I just keep screwing it up!"

"You take care of me too, just in different ways," I replied. "You've been through a lot this year, I know if I ever need you you'll be there for me, look at what happened tonight! You're not a bad person, Sam. You learned to deal with things a certain way because of your mom, and now you're just having to unlearn it. You can do that!"

"But not if I keep smacking my husband around!" she shot back. I shrugged.

"You want me to be honest, I'm so drunk I could barely feel it. I'm sure I'll be feeling everything tomorrow though," I said, looking down at my crotch with a grimace.

Sam raised a hand to my face, softly touching around a cut I'd gotten above my eye during the fight.

"Your face..." she said. "It's messed up."

"Gee, thanks."

She glared at me. "You know what I mean. We have to...you know, do that stuff that you did for me the night I showed on your doorstep."

"Yeah, well, I don't think I need stitches," I responded. "But sure, I'll let you bandage me up, baby." We both stood up, and I kissed her softly.

"We gotta stop fighting like this," she commented after we'd separated. "We're both so hell-bent on being in control...and we just fight about it."

"Yeah but...we've always been like that. It's never gonna go away, and you know that. And trying to pretend it will is only gonna make it worse," I responded. "And I mean, okay...this is gonna sound...really screwed up, but...I kinda like it."

"You like me smacking you around? You like us arguing?"

"No! God, that's not what I meant, Sam. I don't like when we straight up fight, and yeah, we gotta work on that whole smacking me in the face thing that you do...but...the constant battle, the banter...I love it. It's kinda hot. It's like a game."

"Wait...us fighting turns you on?"

"Well, not when it gets out of hand and I make you cry or you try to break my arm or something...but...yeah. I do. I'm never bored with you. You've made me feel more things in the past two months than I have my entire life. You make me happy and angry and secure and insecure and in control and completely out of control all at the same time, and I love it! I love the fire, I love the feistiness. Yeah, it's fucking hot, Sam!" I said honestly.

Sam stared at me for a moment. "We're not normal at all, are we?"

I shook my head. "Nope. We're not. You're batshit crazy with major anger issues, and I'm out-of-my-gourd insane and I enjoy fighting with you! That's not normal, not by any means!" I kissed her fiercely. "But it does make us perfectly matched for each other."

She smiled at me. "But..."

"Oh come on, you telling me that Sam Benson wants to be normal?" I responded. "Never gonna happen. We're gonna end up living in some crazy loft with a bunch of crazy kids, and it's gonna be perfect, and you know it."

She laughed a little, finally over the drama that had just taken place.

"So how many kids are we talking, baby?" I asked.

"Four."

"FOUR?" I exclaimed. "Good god, Sam!"

"What? That's what I want. Two girls and two boys."

I laughed a little, smiling at her. "And what about their names?"

"Sadie Shay, Jude Aidan, Melanie Spencer, and...Freward Karl Benson, Jr." she replied, gazing up at me.

"I like it," I nodded. "So, that's what we'll do. When we both graduate college, we'll start trying to have a kid."

"If I ever graduate high school," Sam moaned.

"You're fine. You've gotten a crap-ton of A's already. You have me helping you," I responded. "Come on, let's go inside, you can me bandage me up, and then I'll give you something you've been missing for awhile."

She frowned suddenly. "Freddie...I'm a little sore..." she said sheepishly.

"I figured as much, but I wasn't talking about that." I walked behind her, pushing her hair aside to kiss her neck. "I was talking about this..." my hands went to her shoulders and began rubbing, and I had to laugh a little bit as she went a little limp against me.

"Oh my god, I did miss that..." she moaned. "Okay, you win. Let's go..." With that, she grabbed my arm and led me back inside the apartment building.

~*Carly*~

"So how'd the party go?" Spencer asked me as he fumbled around the kitchen making coffee.

"Ughhh..." I whined, my head in my hands. "Don't be so loud, my head hurts."

"That good, huh?" Spencer asked with a grin. "So what happened?"

"Um, let's see...Gibby got his mustache burned off, lost his pants, Brad and Sam are no longer allowed in the vicinity of lighters and alcohol at the same time, Sam broke a guy's nose, Freddie got kicked in the balls, uhh...you really need to stop keeping peanut butter in the bathroom...and...I kissed Sam," I responded. "Aspirin, oh my god, aspirin."

"Wow, that kind of party? Not bad for your first rager, kid." Spencer responded, before tossing the bottle of pain reliever at me. I let it fall to the ground, glaring at him, before getting off the stool to pick it up.

"Um, I think I found Gibby's pants."

Spencer bent down to open the bottom cabinet next to the fridge and let out a yell, causing me to cover my ears and wince in pain.

"What the hell was that for?" I cried.

"You found Gibby's pants?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I just found Gibby," Spencer responded, pointing to the sleeping boy curled up inside the cabinet.

"Oh my god," I moaned. "We are so done with alcohol, Spencer! It turns Freddie into an asshole, Brad into...a five year old...Sam will fight anything with a pulse because she wants to prove herself, completely robs Gibby of all vocabulary other than the word 'Whoo!' and...I kissed a girl! Oh my god!" I laid my head down on the table. "I am a bad bad person! Alcohol is bad! We were fine until we started boozing it up! Now look at us! We're...we're...infidels! Heathens! Bad seeds!"

"Welcome to the morning after!" Spencer said. "Still think you wanna party with the big dogs, Carls?"

I glared at him, suddenly becoming suspicious in spite of the searing pain in my head. "Wait, did you..."

"Purposely buy the strongest alcohol I could find to teach you a lesson about what happens when stupid kids drink? Yep, I did. I even sent a few of my extremely young looking friends in to make sure no one died of alcohol poisoning."

"Spencer! That's so..."

"Brilliant? Yep, I thought so too. Now, do you still wanna get wasted?"

"No! I hate alcohol, we gave the entire stash away to Gibby after Sam hauled off and slapped the shit out of Freddie...and...after I pummeled him." I said, hanging my head in embarrassment. I couldn't believe the way I behaved last night. I couldn't believe the way any of us behaved! It was ridiculous, I should just go throw on a cheerleading skirt and wave some pom-poms around and be done with it, because my brains have officially left the building!

"You pummeled Freddie?" Spencer asked. "Hmm, perhaps I shouldn't have thrown in the Jager. But giving all of it to Gibby? That definitely explains why the Gibster's catnapping in our kitchen."

"Spencer, this is serious!" I yelled. "I don't even know what's going with Sam and Freddie, Brad, just...oh my god...he went from being Mr. Responsible to acting like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy! And...I kissed Sam in front of him. Oh my god I kissed Sam!"

"Okay, first of all, STOP SAYING THAT!" Spencer shouted, covering his ears. "And these things happen, Carly. Everyone does stupid stuff when they're drunk."

"Were you not listening to me? Pantsless Gibby. Flaming shots. Broken bones! Nutshots! Lesbianism! And PANTSLESS GIBBY!"

Spencer was about to say something when we both heard a knock at the door.

"Why do I feel like that's going to be the cops?" I grumbled as I dragged myself across the apartment to unlock the door and pull it open. "Brad! Hi..." I trailed off.

"Hey, Carly."

"Hey..um...how's your head?"

"Probably the same as yours," he responded. "I come bearing gifts."

"It better not be more alcohol," I said pathetically, leaning against the doorframe.

"Or hickeys!" Spencer yelled from the kitchen.

"Spencer shut up!" I hollered before turning back to Brad. "So what'd you bring?"

Brad held up a plastic grocery bag. "Hangover cure. My great grandmother's recipe."

I wrinkled my nose, confused. "Your great grandmother's hangover cure? The one who taught you to make fudge?"

"Yeah, she's a big fan of Gin," he responded. "So can I come in or what?"

"Um, sure..." I responded. I watched Brad walk over the counter and begin pulling stuff out of the bag. I stood next to him, peering at the ingredients.

"Eggs...tomato juice...pickles?"

"Just the juice," Brad responded. "And honey and lemon." He looked up suddenly. "Spencer, you got coffee?"

"Yep."

"Gonna need it."

I made a disgusted face. "Wait, all of that's going to cure a hangover? How?"

Brad shrugged. "No idea, but it always worked for Nana. Get me some glasses."

I stared at him, horrified. "You're mixing all of it together?"

"Yep, and you're gonna drink it."

"Why would I do that? I could just go to sleep and get rid of my hangover."

Brad gave me a look. "Uh, cuz we have plans."

"Plans?"

"Yep, plans that don't involve Freddie and Sam. All you do is worry about them, you never have time to worry about what's going on in your own life. So we're gonna have a Sam and Freddie free day, alright?"

"Um, okay, but I still think we should probably check on them, I haven't heard from either of them," I responded.

Brad rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll text Freddie." He pulled his phone out and began texting before firing it off to Freddie. I looked over his shoulder before flicking his ear.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"I told you to check on them!" I said.

"I just did!"

I picked up his phone and read the text aloud. "Dear Freddie, You're a dumb ass, Love Brad and Carly." I gave him a withering stare. "Don't pull me into this, that's not checking on them, they probably won't even -"

Beep! I looked down at the phone to see the message light blinking.

"See? I just checked on them," Brad stated triumphantly.

"What'd he say?"

"He said,'What else is new? Sleeping off hangover with Sam. No interruptions. Will get her to kill you.' See, they're fine! They're in the same bed, and Freddie's back to using Sam as his personal assassin."

I threw my hands up in frustration. "I don't get boys at all!" They insulted each other and called it bonding!

Brad shrugged. "Okay, drink this."

I looked at the glass Brad was holding like it was a snake. "Is there a RAW egg in there?"

"Yeah, of course. Protein's good for raising the blood sugar, helps the headache. Drink it."

"Uh...you drink it first, if it doesn't kill you then I'll try it," I responded, giving him a challenging look. He shrugged, and before I knew it he had downed the entire glass.

"God," he moaned. "Nana has a strong stomach, this stuff tastes like shit." He shook his head a bit. "Okay, your turn."

"Uhhhhhh!" Brad and I both turned in the direction the pitiful groan was coming from.

"What was that?" Brad asked, alarmed. I shrugged.

"Gibby."

"What? Where is he?"

"He's in the cabinet," I responded before flopping down on the couch.

"Okay, three hangover tonics then. Here, drink this," he said, handing me a glass. "I'll make another one for Gibby."

"Here's his pants!" I called, tossing them at him.

~*Sam*~

"Oh my god, I think I'm going to die," Freddie mumbled before pulling his pillow over his face. "This the worst feeling ever!"

"Why did we drink so much?" I moaned, burying my face in his shoulder. "I am not supposed to feel this bad the day after I get my cast off. I hate this."

"There's gotta be a way to deal with this," Freddie responded. "Besides laying around in bed all day. What time is it?"

"It's almost one," I groaned, looking at the clock. "How's your face?"

Freddie shrugged. "It hurts."

I leaned over him to look at his black eye. "Man, I still think Brad could have given me another minute before he yanked me off him. Aw, baby it looks so bad..."

Freddie grunted, not willing to speak any more. It probably hurt him to talk, he'd taken a good hit to his jaw as well as his eye. Not to mention the mark I'd left on his face from slapping him. Ugh, I am a bad wife. I was hoping against hope I'd be able to someone get away with never hitting him for the rest of my life, but that was somehow doubtful. Still, I could definitely try to be a little bit nicer...

"Do you want some advil?" I asked, running my hand up and down his chest.

"The whole bottle," he responded.

"That can't be good for you...ooh...but I think I have some Darvocet left!" I said suddenly, sitting up quickly, wincing as a sharp pain went through my head. Dammit, I hate alcohol! I steadied myself for a moment before turning to Freddie. "You want that?"

"Yeah. And coffee."

"Okay." I leaned over to kiss him quickly before dragging myself out of bed and into the kitchen. Thank god Marissa was at work, I wouldn't be able to deal with her right now, or her questions. If she found out we were all blitzed out of our skulls last night, we'd never hear the end of it.

I'd left my phone sitting out on the counter last night, and picked it up to text Carly.

You hung over?

I put the phone down and began making coffee, waiting for Carly to text me back. A moment later, the phone beeped, and I picked it up.

Carly: No. Brad gave me some weird thing with tomato juice, raw eggs, pickle juice, and coffee in it. Tastes horrible, works great.

I began to text her back.

Teach me, sensei. Did Brad sleep over?

Carly: Brad says eat protein. He didn't sleep over, Gibby did. In a cabinet.

I laughed trying to picture Gibby crammed into a tiny cabinet sleeping, before texting her back.

Sounds kinky. What are you doing later?

Carly: Brad's kidnapped me for the day. He said no drama. PS You're a perv.

Oooh, a kidnapping? My eyes widened as I realized today was Saturday! Freddie had refused to tell us anything about the conversation he'd had with Brad, except for us to wait until Saturday. Aah! Today might be the day Brad makes it official for them! I quickly texted her back.

Have fun, remember your training grasshopper. PS You love me.

I put my phone down and opened the fridge, my brow furrowed. Protein, huh?

"Hey, Freddie?" I called.

"What?" he yelled back.

"You liked that hickory smoked bacon, didn't you?" I responded.

"Are you offering me goods from your private bacon reserve?" Freddie yelled back.

"Yeah...Brad says protein gets rid of hangovers! You want some bacon?"

Everything was quiet for a moment.

"Freddie?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my Sam?" He yelled suddenly.

I rolled my eyes before yanking a frying pan out of the cabinet.

~*Brad*~

"Where are we?" Carly asked, looking around as I parked my dad's Mustang in an empty parking space.

"The lake," I responded. "Well, technically the park, but the lake's that way..." I pointed.

"Oh," Carly said. "What are we doing here?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Just felt like it. Last night was pretty insane, huh?"

Carly groaned. "I cannot believe how out of control things got. We're lucky the cops didn't get called!"

"Yeah...I'm definitely done with drinking forever," I replied. Carly gave me a Look. "Okay, fine, until college." Another Look. "Alright, Spring Break!" An even MORE pointed Look. "Okay, fine, New Year's Eve, damn Carly!"

She laughed. "I just don't think 'Open Bar' is a very good mode of operation for us, especially not for Sam and Freddie. I mean...Sam gets fired up, but Freddie's just as bad, he's just better at hiding it. But last night, he was so drunk he couldn't hide anything!"

"I'm starting to think Sam brings it out of him even more..." I commented. Carly shrugged, nodding.

"Probably. But they've always fought like cats and dogs...they just can't hit each other any more because they're married."

"Do you think that's healthy though? Fighting like that all the time?" I replied.

"Probably not, but...I mean...it really does work for them. They're both so uppity. And they really do love each other a lot. Like, a lot a lot. I mean, Freddie just went off last night, and the hallway yesterday, I had to pull him back. He gets so jealous now...it's really weird to watch."

I shrugged. "He's insecure about the whole thing."

"Did Freddie say that?" Carly replied, looking at me with those big beautiful brown eyes of hers.

"No, not exactly, but you can tell. He doesn't wanna lose her."

"And she doesn't wanna lose him either, god, I thought she was gonna throw Caleb off the balcony last night!" Carly exclaimed.

"Okay, wait!" I said, waving my arms. "We're talking about Sam and Freddie, and we said no Sam and Freddie today!"

"Geez, I'm sorry," Carly said. "I really need some extracurriculars."

"Yeah, something like that. Wanna go check out the lake?"

"Sure," Carly responded, opening her car door and getting out. I took her hand and we both began walking down the water, sitting down on a grassy knoll by the edge. "It's really nice out here. It's beautiful."

"Yeah, but not as beautiful as you." Ah, cripes, Brad, that was really lame and cheesy of you to say. Of course, Carly is a traditional girl who tends to fall for the lame and cheesy, anyone could tell that by looking at her collection of teen romance movies.

"Aw!" Carly gushed. "Stop it, you'll make me blush!"

"What? I think it's cute when you blush," I responded as I put one arm around her. She smiled, staring up at me for a moment, before she suddenly leaned forward and kissed me. Ugh, God bless Sam, up until she'd started giving Carly "lessons", I had to initiate everything. Now it seemed a little bit more equal.

Okay, there's her tongue. Slow down, losing my train of thought. I broke the kiss, pulling away from her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Carly, there's something I really need to tell you," I said, standing up suddenly and wiping my hands on my jeans. Why were my palms so damn sweaty?

"Okay..." she trailed off, a confused look on her face. "What's up?"

I stared at her for a moment, biting my lip. Okay, Brad. You can do this. Breathe. Deep breaths. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Damn!

"Brad? You're kinda freaking me out, I-"

"I'm in love with you, Carly!" I blurted out suddenly. Oops. A little too direct. So much for maintaining an element of cool.

Carly's jaw dropped. "What did you say?"

"Uh...I..." I sighed, steadying myself. "I said, I'm in love with you. I think about you all the time, and-" I was cut off suddenly by Carly standing up and pressing her lips against mine, kissing me passionately. Okay, maybe not too direct then?

"I am SO in love with you!" Carly gushed, kissing me again. "I...I've never felt this way about anyone before, in my life."

"So..." I trailed off, groaning inside because I knew what I was about to say would come off as lame. "Will you...you know...be my girlfriend?"

"Oh my god, yes!" Carly cried, throwing her arms around me. "A thousand times yes!"

I beamed. Oh thank god. Even with a hangover the size of Rhode Island I'd still managed to execute my plan perfectly AND get Carly to agree to be my girlfriend! I'd been agonizing over this for weeks, which, let's face it, was embarrassing! Guys weren't supposed to get all fluffy-bunny can't eat can't sleep head over heels in love like I was with Carly, but here I was, and I was fine with it.

"I bought you something," I said suddenly, pulling a box out of my pocket. "It's not a giant rock of an engagement ring like Freddie did for Sam, but..." I pulled the lid off, showing her what was inside.

She gasped. "Brad! It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, pulling the silver locket out of the box and staring at it. "You got it engraved with my name?"

"Do you like it?"

"I love it!" she cried, bouncing up and down happily. "Put it on me?"

"Sure." I walked behind her to fasten the clasp before pulling her against me, tilting her chin back so I could kiss her from behind. "I love you, Carly," I told her again.

"I love you too!" she said happily. "Oh my gosh, I can't wait to tell Sam!"

"Carly!" I scolded.

"Right, Sam-free zone. Sorry," she said weakly, before giggling and planting another kiss on my lips.


	34. Chapter 34: I Saw Her Standing There

**A/N: A little on the short side, but meh. Setting the stage for more drama I guess. Sidenote: Screwed up the first draft of this and didn't check it before posting it online, some of chapter thirty five got mixed it, but I re-edited. Sorry to everyone who got confused!**

**Chapter Thirty Four:**  
><strong>I Saw Her Standing There<strong>

~*Carly*~

I came bounding down the hallway at school, a look of pure bliss plastered across my face. What an UH-MAZING weekend! I'd spent the entire time with Brad, just hanging out in my apartment. It was really annoying having Spencer pop up every fifteen minutes to do what Brad was now referring to as a "virginity check", but nevertheless, I was so happy I couldn't believe it!

I loved Brad, he loved me, and I was his girlfriend! Eep! I couldn't stop saying it over and over. I'm Brad's girlfriend! I'm Brad's girlfriend! I kept saying it in my head over and over in a sing-song voice. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops!

I was still a little bit nervous about what people in school were going to say about what had happened at the party Friday night, but it was being tremendously overshadowed by the fact that...I'll say it again...I'M BRAD'S GIRLFRIEND! Eeeee!

I was going through my locker, putting away my books, when I heard Sam yell my name.

"CARLY!" she yelled. "The creature lives!"

"Hey," I said, giving her an apologetic look.

"Where you been all weekend?" Sam asked as she leaned against the locker.

"Um, hanging out with my boyfriend," I responded, a slow smile spreading across my face. Sam gasped, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"He asked you?"

"Yeah!"

"Aaaaah!" We both squealed.

"I knew it!" Sam said, grinning. "I knew it was looooove."

"Sam, he said it! He said the L-word!" I said. "And he gave me this!" I pulled the locket out from under the collar of my shirt to show her.

"Oooh, nice! Aw, Carly! I'm so glad you're happy!" she hugged me briefly.

"Where's Freddie?"

"Uh, at home. He has not had a good weekend," Sam responded glumly.

"God, he got hurt bad, didn't he?"

"He can barely get out of bed right now, he's so sore. I mean, nutcheck, steel toe boot? He's lucky he didn't have to go to the ER! So we decided it'd be better if he stayed home."

"God, first one of you gets hurt and now the other! So how come you're not with him?" I asked. Sam shrugged.

"I dunno. Him and Marissa have been riding me about my grades really hard."

"Well, it's working, Sam! You're not flunking anything!"

Sam groaned. "God, I know. My rep is totally in the toilet." She shrugged. "Oh well though."

"So, did you guys get things worked out?"

"Uh-huh. I just really have to make a point of being less aggressive, you know? I -" Sam stopped talking suddenly, glaring at some nerd who was just staring at us. "Take a picture, it'll last longer!" she growled. I smirked at her.

"Less aggressive, huh?"

"I'm a work in progress, Shay," she responded.

"Maybe you'll feel better once Freddie's...parts...are in proper working order." I said. She shrugged.

"I guess. I just feel bad, you know? I mean...it's...I don't really wanna get graphic, but...yeah. Major bruising. And he has a black eye!" she complained. "I wanna beat Caleb's ass all over again!"

"What happened to being less aggressive?"

"Yeah, but he deserves it, Carly!" Sam whined. "He hurt my Freddie!"

"Aw, you said MY Freddie! You guys are so cute when you're not trying to kill each other," I said. I heard the bell ring, and groaned. "Come on, Sam. Class."

"Uhhh...I wanna go home and lay in bed with Freddie!" she whined.

"I know you do, but you wanna graduate too, right?"

"Something like that," Sam said with a grimace. "Alright, let's go."

~*Freddie*~

I was sitting on my couch looking at my laptop, pissed off as hell, when I heard the front door creak open.

"Hey baby!" Sam said, walking in and throwing down her book bag. "How you feeling?"

"Better than I was," I replied. "Hey come here for a second, you need to see this."

She walked over and sat down next to me, her hand going to the side of my head and tilting it to face her before kissing me. "What's up?"

"This!" I pointed to my laptop screen, and watched as she read it, her face going from serene to angry.

"What the...? Are you kidding me? Who did this?"

"No idea," I shrugged. "But this is ridiculous! Look at this, there's a vote to guess whether you're pregnant or not...BELLY WATCH photos...they're saying I only married you because I knocked you up!"

"Ugh, really? Does the drama never cease?" she complained. "We gotta track down whoever did this, so I can kick their ass."

"If it's a female you can kick her ass, if it's a male, then I'll take care of it," I responded gruffly. "I've been trying to track it all day, no luck."

"Why can't people just leave us be?" Sam asked. "Like, seriously! What is so fascinating about our sex life?"

"Uh, everything!" I replied. She glared at me.

"I meant to other people, duh!" she flicked my earlobe. "Okay, let's see...who could be a possible culprit? Patrice?"

"Too dumb to set up a website. Nevel?"

"Eh, he usually just messes with Carly. Hey, what about Lucas? He could be going for website ratings again!"

I shook my head. "I already emailed him, he says he's not involved, but that he did vote yes."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Ugh! This is driving me nuts! I don't want people focusing on this! If they wanna focus on something, they can pay attention to our webshow!" She paused. "Do you think a pregnancy test on iCarly would be out of line?"

"Probably," I responded. "It's still a kids' show."

"Okay, we're so upping the level of adult content in college," Sam grumbled. "What are we gonna do, Freddie?"

I sighed, leaning back on the couch. "I dunno. I've been looking at this all day, my brain is fried." I became aware of Sam's eyes on me. "What?"

"Nothing," Sam said innocently. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"How sexy you look in that tank top," she said with a grin. I couldn't help but laugh, but ugh this was torture. We'd managed to go a mere five hours of being able to have sex before a cheap shot took me out, now I was out of commission for at least three days. This was ridiculous.

"You know I can't right now, baby..." I responded, laying down so my head was in her lap. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she replied, playing with my hair. "Just because I think you're sexy doesn't mean we have to do it every time I say that. It's just a fact, you're sexy as hell."

I smiled up at her, reaching up to flick lightly at her nose. "Love you."

"I love you too," she responded. "Okay, so...guess what!"

"What's up, baby?"

"Brad asked Carly to be his girlfriend!" she said excitedly. "And he bought her this really awesome locket!"

I nodded. "That's cool. I'm glad for her, about time she got a boyfriend."

"Yeah, no kidding," Sam responded. "But what if they get in to different colleges, in other states?"

"It's a little early to think about that, don't you think?"

"What if WE get in to different colleges?" Sam asked suddenly.

I looked up at her. "I told you, I'm going where you're going. I did pretty well on my SATs you know. I can get in pretty much anywhere."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You're so arrogant."

"You love it," I responded, pulling her down to kiss me.

~*Sam*~

"Carly!" I poked my head through her front door. "CARLY!"

"Uh, hey Sam..." Carly glared at me from her spot on the couch after pulling herself away from Brad's mouth.

"Oops," I said with a grin. "Hey Brad!"

"Hey Sam," he grunted, looking annoyed.

"Nice hair," I commented with a grin. "Both of you."

Carly lifted a hand to her head, smoothing her hair out, looking a little embarrassed.

"Okay, where's Freddie?" she asked.

"He just got out of the shower, he'll be here in a minute," I replied, plopping down on a stool. "So, I have no clue what to do for the show this week. Maybe a PSA on the dangers of alcohol."

"Yeah, really," Carly responded with a roll of her eyes.

"Or we could talk about this," I said, turning around and pulling up the evil website on Carly's computer. "Come look at this."

Carly walked over and peered at the monitor. "? What is this?"

"Pregnancy Watch! For me!" I responded. "This is bullshit!"

"Oh my god!" Carly cried. "Who did this?"

"No clue. Freddie doesn't even know and he was trying to track it down all day!"

Carly looked closer. "70% of people who voted think you're pregnant."

"Am I getting fat or something?"

"No!" Carly yelled. "This is just something from dumb, stupid people who have lives! I mean, we can't exactly spill the entire story of how it happened, but it really is kind of abnormal for two kids still in high school to get married, isn't it?"

I shrugged. "I guess. But I'm definitely enjoying it. You know, aside from all the drama."

The front door swung open, and in walked Freddie. "Okay, I'm here. Did you show them the website?"

"Yeah," I responded. "Come here."

Freddie walked across the room and stood in front of me, and I reached up and fixed his hair a little bit.

"Better," I responded before kissing him.

"How's your face, Freddie? It looks really bad!" Carly commented. Freddie rolled his eyes.

"I'm starting to get a little insulted by everyone saying that!" He said. "But I'm fine. It's just a bruise."

"How's your balls?"

"Shut up, Brad!" I threatened.

Freddie grunted. "I'm gonna kill that kid."

"Not if I kill him first," I responded. "I didn't see Caleb at school today, but when I do...he's dead."

"Sam!" Carly scolded me. "Violence isn't the answer!"

"That depends on the question," I responded. "Alright, let's go upstairs. Where's Gibby?"

"Uh, he sent me a text earlier, I think he's back with Tasha." Carly responded. "We're under strict orders not to mention the lack of pants issue from the other night."

"Among other things," I added disdainfully. I hopped off the barstool. "Okay, everyone upstairs, let's go."

~*Freddie*~

"Are you sure you're okay to go today?" Sam asked me between mouthfuls of cereal.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded, chugging the rest of my coffee. "It's not as bad as yesterday."

"You sure you don't want a darvocet? You can just take half," Sam offered. I shrugged.

"Maybe I should. What's that test about in science today?"

"Molecules or some crap like that," Sam responded, digging through her bag to find the bottle of pills she kept in it. "Here you go."

I took the pill from her before rifling through the kitchen drawer to find a knife to cut it with. "Molecules or some crap like that?"

"Uh-huh. DNA or something."

"Sam!" I scolded. "There's a big difference between DNA and molecules!"

"But I thought DNA had molecules in them!"

"Like everything in existence!" I responded. "Dammit, I'm gonna flunk."

"Your idea of flunking is a C, Freddie," she responded with a roll of her eyes. "You'll be fine."

I grunted, not willing to respond, trying to focus on splitting the pill in half. But of course, Murphy's Law stepped in and the pill slipped, causing me to slice my hand open with the sharp knife. "Ow, FUCK!" I hollered.

Sam's eyes grew big. "Oh my god, that's a lot of blood!" she said, grabbing the paper towels and running to the other side of the counter where I was standing. She tore one off and grabbed my hand, wrapping the towel around it. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm having the shittiest luck lately, I swear to god!"

"Aw, baby..." she said weakly. "I'm sorry."

"I changed my mind, I'm not going," I responded.

"Then I'll stay home with you," Sam said, her arms going around my waist.

"Baby, there's a test today..." I trailed off as she began kissing my neck. "Sam," I warned. "I'm bleeding and still black and blue down there."

"So?" she murmured, continuing to kiss my neck. "I can still kiss you, can't I?"

"Well...yes...but..." I groaned as I felt her tongue flick at my my ear. "Okay, just wait a second, let me slap a band-aid on this thing so I don't bleed out."

"I'll get it!" she said, going to the bathroom. I shrugged, unwrapping my hand to look at the cut.

"Hey, how come you're being so nice all of a sudden?" I called.

"Would you rather me go back to hitting you?" she said as she walked out of the bathroom.

"Well, no, but..."

"I'm trying here, Freddie. I really am. I don't like being mean to you."

"You can't change overnight, baby," I reminded her gently as she took my hand and placed the bandage over it.

"I know," she responded simply. "And I'm not. I'm just saving up my anger to take out on other people instead of you."

I laughed. "Okay. Sounds good, just don't get in any fights, okay?"

"I'll do my best, but that goes for you too. Ever since you went all Untouchables on Bill you've been all about getting into fights. It's not really you, but..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. "It's kind of a rush, huh? Not being powerless?"

"Yeah, definitely," I responded. "But you're right, I need to chill the hell out."

"So, can we go make out now?" Sam asked, her arms going around my neck.

"Hmm...make out huh?"

"Well, your...parts...are still out of commission. So...why not?"

"Wouldn't that be a giant tease?"

"You know as well as I do that teasing can be fun..." she said with a raise of her eyebrows. "Now come on, you...me...couch!" She grabbed my arm and jerked me over towards the sofa, laying back and pulling me on top of her. I held my weight off her, supporting myself with my arms, when she suddenly stuck her elbows out, causing my arms to give out from under me.

"You don't have to do that anymore," she stated, before kissing me. "I like feeling you on top of me."

I smiled and kissed her, softly at first, before deepening the kiss. I didn't want things to get rough this time, because then it really would be a tease.

"I love you so much, Sam," I whispered before kissing her neck, feeling her fingers tangle through my hair.

"I love you more," she responded, wrapping a leg around my back.

"I doubt that." I kissed her again, our tongues rubbing across one another. She tugged at my shirt, pulling it over my head, and I gave her a Look. "Not too much teasing, baby."

"I'm not trying to tease you, I just wanna feel your skin," she replied, running her hands down my back. She didn't use her nails this time, she was being soft and sweet. I loved the roughness, but I loved this too. I started kissing over her neck and shoulders before coming back up to capture her mouth with mine. She moaned when she felt me getting a little too excited.

"Doesn't hurt?" she asked.

"No," I responded. "I don't wanna push it though."

"Me either. I like this, it's nice..."

"Yeah, it is," I replied as my mouth found hers again.

We must have made out like that for hours, so long my lips were starting to get sore. I pulled away from her, sighing.

"I think that's enough," I replied. "My lips are getting chapped."

"No, wait," she said, grabbing me and pulling me down. "Don't get up. Just stay."

"And do what?" I asked.

"Just stay here with me," she replied.

"Alright, hold on." I shifted our bodies so I was the one laying underneath her, and she snuggled against me, resting her head on my chest.

"I love that," she whispered.

"What?"

"Your heartbeat," she murmured.

"Gonna go to sleep on me, baby?" I asked with a smile.

"Mmmhmm. Is that okay?"

"Yeah."

"I love you."

"Love you too, baby."

"Nub."

"Brat." I laughed as she poked me in the ribs. "Get some sleep."

"K."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Sam and I both jumped as we heard a loud knock at the door. I looked at the clock at the wall. 4:30. Geez, how long had we been sleeping? How long had we been making out? We both sat up, each of us growling in frustration. I didn't want to go answer a damn door, I wanted to lay on my couch with my Sam!

"Ugh, I'll get it, go sit down. And put your shirt back on, what if it's a chick?," she said, before walking over to the front door. I rolled my eyes and pulled my shirt back on over my head as she unlocked the door. She pulled it open and let out a gasp.

"What? Who is it?" I asked, peering around the corner.

Oh, crap. Delayed head injury symptoms? I was seeing double!

"Hi, sister dear."

Sam gulped. "Hi...Melanie."


	35. Chapter 35: I'm Looking Through You

**A/N: Another short-ish chapter, but the next one will be pretty juicy (wink wink!) I made a bit of an oopsie earlier when I uploaded chapter 34 and part of chapter 35 got mixed in, but here's the complete chapter 35, no mix-ins. **

**Chapter Thirty Five:  
><strong>**I'm Looking Through You**

~*Sam*~

"What are you doing here, Melanie?"

"Heard you got married," Melanie said. "Didn't think to tell your twin sister?"

"We shared a womb, not lives. I had more important things to deal with," I responded. "Why are you here?"

"Lost my scholarship. Holly Oaks School for Girls doesn't take too kindly to girls who have mothers in prison."

I shrugged. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"Can I come in or are you gonna make me stand here in the hallway all day?"

I pretended to weigh my options, purposely annoying my bratty, hoity-toity sister. "Eh..."

"Come on, Sam!" she whined.

"Okay, fine, come in," I responded. "Freddie, I'm sure you remember Melanie." I made a face.

"Uh, yeah...hey Melanie...what's up?"

"Not much, why'd you stop emailing me? I miss talking to you!"

I gave her a withering stare. "Uh, hello! Married man! Back off!" I turned to Freddie. "And you! Emailing my sister?"

"Ow!" Freddie said, his hand going to his chest. "You said no more violence!"

"I never agreed to stop doing THAT!" I responded.

"Yeah, he just suddenly stopped like...four months ago," Melanie responded. "I was so sad. Anywho, so yeah, lost my scholarship."

"That sucks," I responded, grabbing Freddie's arm and yanking him toward the couch. He sat down and I immediately sat in his lap, glaring at Melanie.

"I'm not hurting you am I?" I whispered in his ear.

"No, I'm good," he responded, his hand rubbing my lower back. "Relax."

"Yeah, I guess I'm gonna have to start going to Ridgeway," Melanie responded, noticing the way I tensed up. "What's wrong, you don't want me to go to Ridgeway?"

"Maybe you'd be happier at that charter school down the road," I commented, trying to sound upbeat. I did not want Melanie in my school! She'd made elementary school a living hell for me, always being the perfect one, divulging incriminating secrets about me to the popular girls. I was not going to let her come back in my life and destroy it again!

"Well, I'd really like to be around normal kids for once. Of course, I don't have anywhere to stay..." she trailed off. "Maybe I could stay here!"

I looked at Freddie, and he looked at me. He didn't know the whole Melanie back-story, sure, but I could tell the idea of extra person in the apartment messing up our "private time" didn't sit well with him.

"Well, the thing is, Melanie..." he began. "I think there's a maximum of three people per apartment here. So...maybe you could look online for a roommate!"

"Oh come on, Freddie. Are you really gonna let your sister-in-law be homeless?" she asked in a sweet voice, toying with her hair.

Oh hell no. I wasn't going to put up with this. She was using the same tactics on Freddie that she used on our mother, every time she did something wrong and blamed it on me. Some of my worst beatings from my earlier years happened because Melanie would do something and pin it on me!

"Melanie..." I warned.

Okay, I loved my sister, quite against my will I might add. She was family, and one of these days I would probably end up naming one of my kids after her...but I didn't like her very much. She was just as conniving as I was, and if she wasn't so sneaky and selfish we could have made a great team, but she didn't want us to be a great team. She wanted us to be in constant competition and prove she was the better daughter. That was fine by me, she could go and be the good daughter, but I wasn't cool with her trying to weasel her way back into my life and take everything back over!

"I could call mom, I don't think she'll like the idea of sitting in a prison cell with her favorite daughter being homeless."

"What, you think she's gonna beat me from behind bars, Melanie?" I gruffed. "I've been emancipated, there's nothing she can do me now. And nothing you can do to me either!"

"Sam!" she gasped. "I would never do anything to you! You're my sister, and I love you!" She smiled, but I could tell it was a fake smile.

Just then, the front door swung open, and in walked Carly. "Sam, Freddie, you guys missed school, what's going...Melanie?"

"Carly!" Melanie yelled, jumping up to hug her. Ugh, she was so fake!

"Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?" Carly asked.

"I lost my scholarship," Melanie said pitifully. "And now that mom's in prison, I don't have anywhere to stay."

"You're not staying here, Melanie!" I growled.

"Sam!" Carly scolded me. "You don't have to be so mean to her!"

"What? I'm not. Rules are rules. Two bedroom apartment, no more than three people! It's out of my hands!"

Carly looked at Melanie, pondering something, and I did NOT like the way I could feel this going.

"Well, maybe..." Carly trailed off.

"Carly!" I warned.

"What? I can't let her live on the streets, Sam! She's your sister!" Carly shot back. "I can talk to Spencer, maybe you can stay there until you get on your feet."

"Really? Thanks Carls!" Melanie said sweetly before hugging her.

I wanted to vomit.

~*Freddie*~

"Sam, I don't see why you're so upset! She's your sister!" Carly yelled.

"I don't want her staying here, Carly! Things were better when she was on the opposite side of the country!" Sam yelled back.

I was sitting on top of the desk, my head in my hands, listening to Carly and Sam yell at one another, and getting quite annoyed by it.

And just when I thought the drama was going to go away for a little while!

"What could possibly go wrong?" Carly shot back.

WHAM! The studio door swung open, hitting the wall as Brad walked in.

"Sam just hit on me!" he announced.

"That could go wrong!" Sam replied to Carly pointedly.

"Wait..." Brad trailed off, looking at Sam and then looking behind him. "You...were...in the lobby...and...dressed differently...okay, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? I swear to god there's no alcohol in this smoothie!"

I rolled my eyes. "Did we ever tell you Sam has a twin sister? Her name's Melanie."

"What? No way dude, you're just messing with me!" Brad responded.

"No, he's not. I wish he was," Sam responded. "But before I explain everything..." she walked over to Brad and hit him in the chest. "I would NEVER hit on you! You're too skinny!"

"Ow!" Brad hollered. "That hurt, and in my defense...I didn't expect two of you to be walking around! Now someone tell me what's going on? If you have a twin then where has she been all this time?"

"Boarding school," Carly responded. "And now that Sam's mom is in prison, she lost her scholarship."

"So where is she staying?"

"Here!" Sam yelled.

"Uh, did you miss the part about her hitting on me, Carly? This is a bad idea!"

"Brad, I'm sure she didn't know you're my boyfriend, I can't blame her, you are pretty hot."

I rolled my eyes. Were Sam and I that cheesy? I wasn't sure where I stood on the whole Melanie issue. Sam had a fierce rivalry going on with her sister, a love/hate relationship that put mine and Sam's former love/hate situation to shame, and yeah...I had kissed her before...and she'd been emailing me for a long time. This could go really, really bad, or Melanie could just find her own group of friends and barely be an issue. I couldn't tell yet. Sam was really fired up about the whole thing though, and it was SUCH bad timing!

"Look, Melanie's going to stay here for a little while, it won't take you guys that long to be able to tell them apart, I swear," Carly said.

"What makes you say that?" Brad replied.

Sam grunted. "She wears pink." She shuddered a bit. "Okay, but seriously, we have bigger problems. This whole pregnancy watch thing? Freddie, you've gotta hack it!"

"Hacking is a federal offense, Sam!" I reminded her.

"So? Like we've never broken the law before?" Sam shot back.

"Alright, fine!" my hands went up. "I'll see what I can do!"

"Thank you," Sam responded, before sitting down next to me. "Now, we gotta write the bits for the show this week, or we're in big trouble."

"You think Melanie would be down for a very special edition of Messin' With Lewbert?" Carly asked. Sam glared at her, but Carly continued. "Come on, Sam! It'd be hilarious."

"Fine, you ask her, because I'm not doing it!"

They began arguing again, and I groaned.

God, what was it going to take to get some peace and quiet around here? A lightbulb went off in my head, and I stood up.

"I'll be right back," I said, getting up.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked me, forgetting about her argument for a moment.

"I left something in the apartment. I'll be right back."

As I walked downstairs, I sent a text to Melanie.

'I need you to do something for me.'

As I opened Carly's front door, my phone beeped, and I looked at it.

Melanie: I think that's a job for your wife?

I rolled my eyes, walking across the hall and opening my front door before shutting it and walking over to the counter to text Melanie back.

'Very funny. Can you pretend to be Sam?'

I put the phone down and walked into my bedroom to begin rifling through the giant bag of giftcards we still hadn't gone through. So many damn giftcards. Sporting goods, kitchenware, restaurant giftcards, a-ha! I pulled out the hotel giftcard and opened it.

Hmm, three nights? Anywhere? That should do.

I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed my phone to see if Melanie texted me back.

Melanie: Kind of a tall order, but I can try. Why?

I texted her back.

'Gonna pull the old switch-a-roo on iCarly so I can get Sam out of town for the weekend. We need it, or her head might explode. BTW...the blonde guy you hit on in the lobby? That's Carly's boyfriend. Stop being so flirty!'

Beep! I picked up my phone.

Melanie: I'll try. Didn't know he was Carly's bf. My bad. Sam hates me right?

Ugh, this could go on forever. I picked up my phone and called her.

"Hello?" Melanie asked in a perky voice.

"There you go again, being all flirty," I said. "Try to tone it down, Sam almost ripped your throat out in our apartment this afternoon."

"I was just giving her shit! If she expects me to be a bitch, I'm gonna be a bitch!"

I rolled my eyes. "You are just like Sam, just in a preppier package."

"Is that what you want?"

"Melanie..." I warned her.

"Okay! Sorry! I can't help it, I'm a flirt! It's like a nervous tick or something! Look if I do this, do you think Sam will stop hating me?"

"She doesn't hate you, she's threatened by you! Besides, I gathered you were kind of a brat in your younger days."

"So was Sam!"

"Think maybe it's time to bury the hatchet?" I replied. I heard her groan.

"Fine, I'll try to be nice. It's just so fun messing with her like this!"

"See? You are just like Sam!"

"Don't say that, please. I shower."

"So does she. Look, I'm gonna talk to Carly, LEAVE BRAD ALONE, and don't tell Sam. I want this to be a surprise!"

"Fine, I'll do it. But she better lighten up! I could have stayed at Holly Oaks you know. I didn't get kicked out. I came back because I do wanna fix things with her."

"Then you can start by not flirting with her husband," I replied. "I'll see you later, Mel."

"Bye!" she clicked off, and I put the phone back down.

Okay, time to go send Sam on a wild goose chase, so I can go over the plan with Carly and Brad. I hope this can go off without a hitch, all the drama was going to kill me one day.

~*Carly*~

"This isn't gonna work," I announced. Freddie looked up at me, nervous.

"Why not?"

I pointed. "Look! Something's wrong with Melanie, she's got a screw loose!"

Freddie looked to wear I was pointing to see Melanie engaged in some very intense flirting with Gibby. At least it looked like flirting. She was pretending to be very interested in his belt buckle, twirling her hair around her fingers and laughing at his very un-funny jokes.

"I'll be right back," he said, before walking over to Melanie, grabbing her shoulders, and turning her around. "Mel, that one has a girlfriend too...and...it's a Gibby!"

"What?" she responded. "Gibby's adorable!"

"See, Benson, I'm adorable!" Gibby yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, where's Sam?" I asked.

"Sent her to get Smoothies. Had to...bargain with her though," Freddie replied.

"What'd you bargain for?"

Freddie shook his head. "Not too comfortable talking about it with you, Carly."

"Oh, ew!" I responded. "Okay, fine. Melanie, go put these on. Freddie, go over the camera stuff with Brad one last time."

"This is so weird," Brad commented. "I mean...it's like a carbon copy of Sam...just flirtier." He leaned over to me to whisper in my ear. "And stupider."

"I heard that!" Melanie yelled. I looked up, and wanted to hit her.

"Melanie! Go change downstairs, oh my god! Is this what happens when you go to an all-girls school? You become perpetually horny?" I shooed her out of the studio and shut the door.

"She's not that different from Sam I guess..." Brad trailed off. "What, it was just a joke!" he hollered after Freddie glared at him.

"Whatever," Freddie responded. "Okay, are you SURE you guys got this? No screw ups? If something goes wrong, just go with it."

"Freddie, we're fine," I replied. "Now, go have a good weekend with Sam. I hope it's a nice hotel, because you guys probably won't leave the room the entire time! Where are you going anyway?"

"The Coast," Freddie shrugged. "It's really nice up there, without a bunch of distractions and drama."

"Oh," I replied. "Cool. Well, have fun. We got this. I just hope Melanie knows enough almost-swear words to keep her from looking suspicious."

"It should be fine, I'll see you guys Monday. Have fun, and don't screw up!" he said, before walking out, passing by Melanie.

"I'm ready!" she yelled. "How do I look?"

"Uh, take your hair down," I said, pulling her ponytail holder out. "There, much better. Okay, you've seen the show, right?"

"Yeah, like every single one, why?"

"Okay, remember, Sam talks the most shit, and Gibby takes the most abuse. Anything involving meatballs, llamas, or fish is ALWAYS funny, so if you get stuck, just go with that, okay?" I responded. "And slouch a little bit, would ya? This ain't a cotillion."

"K!" Melanie said brightly. "So...do you guys have any single male friends, or not?"

"Uh, you start Ridgeway on Monday, a Sam look-alike will do well."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well...you have the same boobs right?"

"Uh, I guess so?"

"Yeah, you'll do fine," I responded. "Come on, we have two minutes to show-time."

~*Freddie*~

I walked downstairs into Carly's living room just as Sam was walking in the front door, her arms full of smoothies.

"Hey! Help me with this would you?" she asked. I grabbed a few out of her hands and set them on the coffee table, before picking the one up that had an F scrawled across the side of it.

"Where's Mellow-Me?" she asked.

"Childhood nickname?" I asked her.

"Uh-huh." Sam responded.

"Very cute. Come on, let's go."

Sam made a face. "Where are we going?"

"Out of town, for the weekend."

"What? Freddie! We have a show to do! Carly can't do it by herself!"

"You're right, she can't. Luckily you have a body double."

Sam let out a long, drawn out breath, a look of pure anger flashing across her face. "So now she's stealing the SHOW from me? I'm gonna beat her ass, MOVE!"

"Not so fast, Mrs. Benson!" I yelled, catching the hood of her sweatshirt and pulling her back with it. "If you're gonna kill somebody, kill me. It was my idea."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Look at you! You're a wreck! We gotta get out of here for a few days. Lay off Melanie, okay? She's not trying to take over, she just wants to be part of your life."

"Look, I told you! She hates me! She wants to destroy me!"

I shook my head. "Funny, she said the same thing about you. You know, I would have killed to have a brother. Now can we go? Please?"

"You expect me to leave while iMelanie is going on? I don't think so, Freddie!" she snapped.

"It's not iMelanie, it's iCarly, and she's pretending to be you! She's not stealing the spotlight, she's giving you an out so you can clear your damn head! Let's go, Sam!" I replied. "If I have to carry you out to the car, I will!"

She looked up at me, glaring. "Try it," she said through gritted teeth.

I shrugged. "Okay." With that, I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.

"Freddie! Dammit, put me down, or I'll never have sex with you again!" she yelled. I laughed.

"You don't have the willpower for that, baby," I responded, smacking her on the ass before opening the door and walking down the hall.


	36. Chapter 36: All My Loving

**A/N: Okay, so, the official word on the streets is...you all hate Melanie. LOL. Eh, guess you'll have read and see how my Melanie turns out. Anyway, I'm really bad at writing sappy stuff (aka non-comedy non-uber-rough lemons) so today's chapter has been unofficially sponsored by Corona Light. Lifted the writer's block. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Thirty Six:  
>All My Loving<strong>

~*Carly*~

"Alright, so it's official! Brad has no idea how to use a camera! Sorry for broadcasting in black and white, viewers, but it is what it is!" I yelled.

"And til next time...um...llamas!" Melanie yelled half-heartedly, illiciting a groan from me.

"Yeah...they're great, and remember kids, you see Sam all loopy? This is what happens when you buy sushi from a truck! Bye guys!"

"And we're clear!" Brad yelled. "Oh, wait. Now we're clear!"

"Oh god," I moaned. "Worst show ever!"

Brad was great as an assistant, but horrible as a camera man, and Melanie was even worse as a co-host! She definitely didn't share Sam's comedic brain...in fact come to think of it, Melanie was really nice, but a bit of an airhead. I'd forgotten that about her, she'd gone away to boarding school when she was eleven and I'd gotten use to only being around one of the Puckett twins, the smart-mouthed, devious one. I was never going to do another show without Sam and Freddie AGAIN.

"Dude, I could have done a better job!" Gibby yelled at Brad, who merely glared at him. I shrugged.

"Probably," I responded. "Okay, what now?"

Brad looked at his watch. "My parents are going out tonight, I gotta babysit."

"What? Brad!" I cried, irritated. I'd wanted to spend time with him tonight, especially since Freddie and Sam had fled the premises, thereby making it a "drama-free zone".

"Why don't you hang out with Melanie? Get better re-acquainted..." Brad said. "I'll come over when my parents get back, okay? Love you." He kissed me, and with that, he was out the door.

"I'm going over to Tasha's, I'll see you guys later..." Gibby waved and headed for the stairs, leaving me and Melanie alone in the studio. Great, now she was going to ask me about how she did, and I'm a horrible liar. Awkward.

"So..." she said brightly. "How'd I do?"

"Um...well..." I trailed off, scratching my head. "It was...okay, I'll be honest Mel, your performance wasn't exactly Oscar-worthy...I just think Sam and I have better chemistry. It's nothing personal, just..."

"Good!" she cried. "I am never doing that again, Carly! Being on camera is no fun!"

"Oh thank god, I didn't want to offend you!" I said, relieved that issue had passed me by. "So...do you wanna watch Girly Cow?"

"I love Girly Cow!"

"Yay!" I said, clapping my hands together. I guess Melanie wasn't completely hopeless. "I always have to force Sam to watch it!"

"Oh my god, we used to have to sneak it into our dorms at Holly Oaks!" she paused, looking like she was choosing her words carefully. "You know I didn't really lose my scholarship, right?"

"Wait, what?" I asked. Now I was confused. Melanie sighed.

"Look, Sam's my sister, and we don't even talk! I mean, our mom is in PRISON, no father to speak of...and then I found she got married by watching the show? Do you have any idea how hurt I was? She didn't call or email or anything! She hates me, Carly! I mean she absolutely hates me! So...I came back. To fix things with her."

My shoulders slumped. Okay, maybe she wasn't a complete airhead, she had lied to Sam and fooled her, and Sam was pretty good about seeing right through that kind of thing. It was kind of sweet, in a twisted sort of way. Maybe a Puckett sort of way? "Aw, Mel! That's so...sweet. It's just...we can't take any more drama, so don't bring any more in, okay? That's all I ask."

Melanie shrugged. "I'll do my best. Hey, does Brad have a brother?"

"Yeah, if you like younger men..." I trailed off.

"I don't mind a younger guy! How old is he?" she asked excitedly.

"Seven," I replied with a grin. She glared at me.

"Very funny, Carly!" I grinned at her and we walked downstairs to my living room to find Spencer dancing around the kitchen, a moony look plastered across his face.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked worriedly. "Did you mix up the caffeine pills with the aspirin again?"

Spencer rolled his eyes, but kept dancing. "Nope!" he responded joyfully.

"Then what's the big deal?"

"Met a girlllllllll!" he sang in an off-key voice. "And she is BEEE-U-tiful! And an artist!"

"Ohhh..." I said with a smile. "A girl, huh? Do tell?"

"Her name's April." he responded. "And she's so pretty and she smells nice and I want her to have my babies! And she's an artist! We could make beautiful art together, AND beautiful babies! I'm going out with her tomorrow!"

"Wow!" I said. "This sounds serious. Where'd you meet her?"

"Art gallery!" he said with a grin. "And guess what? She gave me HER number! I didn't have to hit on her and fail at all!"

"Wow Spencer! I guess love's in the air, huh?"

"Just not sisterly love," Melanie grumbled.

"What's wrong with you?" Spencer asked. "Sam still being a bitch to you?"

"Spencer!" I scolded. "You know Sam hates that!"

"Sorry," Spencer shrugged. "So is Sam still being..disagreeable?"

"Yeah! She won't even give me a chance, and every time I even look at Freddie she acts like she's gonna kill me!" Melanie whined, sitting down on a stool.

"Yeah, but it's because you like him..." Spencer trailed off. "You do like him, don't you?"

"No! I meant, not really. Not like...like him, like him. I like flirting, that's all," Melanie said, shrugging. "It's fun! It's not like I wanna have sex with him or anything! There's plenty of other guys I could do that with!"

"Too much information, Mel," Spencer responded. "So go find a boyfriend and maybe Sam will back off."

"Spencer, she's only been here for like two days. I'm sure she'll find plenty of willing guys at Ridgeway. Just don't flirt with anyone's boyfriend, okay? I know you can't throw a hit like Sam can." I warned her. She shrugged.

"I'll try, but I go where my hormones lead me!" Melanie said with a grin.

"You're very secure in your sluttiness, aren't you kid?" Spencer asked. I opened my mouth to object, but Melanie merely shrugged again, not offended at all.

"Extremely secure."

Spencer looked at me. "If I have a daughter, remind me not to send her to an all-girl boarding school. This is a product of not having co-ed interaction."

"Yeah, no kidding..." I trailed off, eyeing Sam's twin sister who was absolutely nothing like her. Sam could definitely be classified as a nymphomaniac, but it didn't extend beyond Freddie. She'd never even KISSED anyone but Freddie. Melanie was a completely different monster. She looked ready to hump anything that was male and had a pulse!

Wow, having Melanie around was definitely going to stir a few things up...

~*Freddie*~

"I can feel your eyes on me, you know," I commented as I focused on the road.

"I am so pissed at you right now," Sam grunted.

"Yeah, I can see this is gonna be a lovely weekend," I said sarcastically.

"Well! I have a right to be mad! You did all of this behind my back!" she yelled. "You're so damn sneaky!"

"Where do you think I learned it from?" I said pointedly. My hand went to her leg, rubbing it. "Don't be mad at me baby, I just wanted to give you a break. It's been one disaster after another around here."

Sam sighed, leaning her head back against the seat. "Yeah, you're right, it has been. I'm so worked up about this whole Melanie thing though! It just pisses me off! She's always gotten everything she wants, and I've always gotten stuck with the leftovers. And every time something went wrong with my mom, she'd just go blame it on me and then run off and climb up the tree! I always got the worst beatings because of her! She'd do it on purpose!" Sam ranted. "I mean, to just blame it on someone else like that and let THEM get hit? Fuck that, if I fuck up I take my beatings! And everyone thinks I'm the mean one!"

"Sounds to me like she's just a big scaredy-cat, and my Sam has some balls," I commented, changing lanes. Sam was silent for a moment, toying with her nails, and I could tell she was thinking things over.

"Well, I never thought of it like that before, but still! That's not cool, and she's never apologized!"

"Have you ever given her the opportunity to apologize?" I asked. "Or did you just shut her out of your life?"

She glared at me. "Whose side are you on, nub?"

"I'm on your side, baby," I responded, taking my hand in hers. "I just...I don't want you to be angry anymore. Is that so bad? I want you to be happy!"

"Well...you make me happy," she said. "Ugh, but the way Melanie looks at you! I hate it! She's gonna try and steal you away from me, I just know it!"

"Yeah, but she looks at Brad the same way. I mean, damn, she hit on Gibby! That girl just needs to find a boyfriend and she'll lay off, trust me! I don't want Melanie, Sam! I want you! I've always wanted you!" I replied. "Melanie doesn't have the fire you have. She doesn't drive me crazy, in both good and bad ways." I paused. "I want YOU. I love you. Your preppy attention-deprived twin coming back into your life all of a sudden isn't going to change that. NOTHING is going to change that."

"So where are we going?" Sam asked me, obviously wanting to change the subject. I shrugged.

"It's a surprise."

"You and your surprises..." she grumbled. A mischievous grin spread across her face. "So how's the..." she trailed off, raising her eyebrows.

I smirked. "Definitely back in working order. What, did you think I'd take you away and we'd play cards all weekend?"

She laughed. "Hmm, maybe strip poker?"

"No way, I'd end up naked and you'd be sitting there fully dressed."

"Nothing wrong with that," she replied. "Speaking of which, you did actually pack like...clothes for me, right?"

"I sure did, baby." I replied. "Don't worry, I've got everything planned out."

"Okay," she nodded. "So...no hints at all, huh?"

"Nope. Not one."

"Okay," she said, not willing to argue further. "So just me and you for three days?"

"Yep."

"No one else?"

"No one else."

"No drama?"

"Not one bit."

Sam was silent for a moment, staring out the window, then finally spoke.

"Do we have to go back?"

I laughed. "Yeah, we gotta go back."

Sam groaned. "How many more months of high school?"

"Like nine or ten," I responded, eliciting another groan from her.

"I wish I hadn't asked that."

"Well, eight if you include all the breaks," I offered.

"No dice, Fredward. How'd you get the money for this anyway?"

"We gotta finish going through the giftcard bag," I responded. "It's like a gold mine."

"Obviously."

The drive was about two and a half hours outside Seattle, but it felt like an entire universe away. No school drama, webshow drama, family drama...oh man, it was so good to get away from all of it. I had a feeling the three days would fly by, but I didn't care, it would definitely be worth it. I was determined not to get in a fight with Sam over the weekend, in fact, I was so determined, that if she started one, I'd let her win. I was that over all of it. I just wanted to relax and not worry about anything, not even working out, even though I'd have to make up for it later. It was worth it.

"Oooh, this is pretty. Where are we?" Sam asked as she looked out the window.

"Seabrook," I replied. "Good enough, baby?"

She gave me a smile. "Three days with you in a fleabag motel on the rough side of town would have been good enough, Freddie! This is perfect!"

I grinned. "Wait until you see the hotel," I responded.

"This isn't gonna be one of those places with the champagne glass hot-tubs and heart-shaped swimming pools, is it?" Sam asked. "Because that just borders on cheesy."

I laughed. "Borders on cheesy? Sam, that's the definition of cheesy."

"Good, then we're in agreement, no heart-shaped swimming pools. But it better have a bigger bed than what we have in our apartment. The full-size ain't cuttin' it anymore."

"Yeah, I know. We really need to upgrade," I said as I pulled into a parking lot. "Okay, here we are." I pointed to my left. "There's the hotel."

Sam looked, and her jaw dropped. "Holy crap, we're staying here?"

"Yep. Thanks to some chick named Grace in Michigan. She's the one that gave us the giftcard."

"I love Grace in Michigan!" Sam responded, bouncing in her seat. "Oh my god! Do you realize...okay, no drama, no rumors, NO INJURIES! Just you and me!"

"Finally!" I responded, opening my door. "Now get your sexy ass outta the car."

~*Brad*~

I glared at the front door of my apartment as I heard it unlock and my parents walked in.

"Hi, honey!" My mom said, a little overly happy and very uncoordinated as she stumbled through the front door.

"Oh, look, it's the Winos!" I said, agitated. "You said ten!"

"It's ten thirty, Bradley, calm down!" my dad said as he walked in behind my mom. "How'd everything go tonight?"

"Well, the hamster escaped AGAIN, Heather got a notification on her cell phone that she burned all her minutes, so you're now paying overages, and Bryson found Mom's perfume stash and sprayed every single bottle, so now the bathroom smells like a French stripper. How was your night?"

"It was great!" my dad responded, flopping down on the couch next to me.

"What about the baby?" my mom asked as she rustled around the kitchen. I shrugged.

"Leah's been down for like three hours. Can I go now?"

"You going to go see Carly?"

"Yep, it's Friday night, she's my girlfriend, it's what we do!"

"You are being safe, aren't you Bradley?" my mom turned around to stare at me.

"Uh, if you mean abstinent, then yes, we are. I haven't been dating her that long, mom."

"Well, just be sure when the time comes, you're careful!"

I groaned. "I am not having this conversation with you two. Can I go or what?"

"Just one second, Bradley," my dad said, his hand going to my knee as I moved to stand up. I groaned in frustration, my head hanging back. "Have you thought at all about what we talked about?"

"Yeah, dad, I have. And I told you, I'm not the military type. I really am giving heavy consideration to the whole police thing, but you can hang up the whole Marine issue, because it's not happening."

"I can get you excellent recommendations to the academy. Carly's dad could probably be some help too!"

"Yeah, except I'm not doing it! I gotta go, Carly's waiting for me." I stood up quickly. "Love you mom." I walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek before grabbing my jacket and heading for the elevator, pressing the button a few times because I was so impatient. It finally arrived at my floor, and I headed up to Carly's apartment, knocking on the door.

"Hey Brad!"

"Oh, hey Melanie...where's Carly?"

"Right here!" Carly called from behind the counter. "How'd it go tonight?"

"Can I talk to you in private for a minute, on the fire escape?" I asked.

A worried look crossed Carly's face. "Uh...sure. I'll be right back, Mel."

"K. I'm gonna go play on your stripper pole!"

"Of course," Carly muttered, walking out of the apartment and shutting the door behind her. She followed me out to the fire escape, climbing out the window and sitting down on the stairs as I came out behind her. "So what did you want to-" she was cut off by me pressing my lips against hers, moaning in surprise.

"Sorry," I breathed after we'd separated. "I just wanted some alone time."

"So nothing's wrong?" she asked.

"Nope," I replied. "You cool with staying out here for awhile?"

"Yeah, that's fine," she said with a smile before kissing me again.

~*Sam*~

"I am STARVING!" I hollered as I rolled around on the bed next to Freddie.

"You wanna order some food?" he asked, leaning over to the nightstand to grab the hotel menu. "Get whatever you want."

"That's a dangerous thing to say with me, Benson," I replied, plucking the menu out of his hands.

Okay, so I expected the minute we got inside the incredible hotel room we'd start going at it like rabbits, but somehow we ended up just falling asleep. I guess the wear and tear of all the drama had just worn us out, and it was nice to just sleep in that giant bed snuggled up to Freddie, but I definitely had plans later on that would put that bed to better use. And the jacuzzi tub. And the window seat. And the shower. And the dresser. I was going to wear him out! I still hadn't gotten back at him for the whole "beg me to stop" thing that had happened last week. We hadn't even had sex since then because of his injury and the whole Melanie thing stressing me out. God...please...let us get back to normal! I don't even remember us having "normal" yet!

"So what are you gonna order?" Freddie asked, rolling over to face me and playing with my hair. Oh, the hair thing. I love that.

"I dunno," I responded, looking at him. Staring at him. Sometimes I forgot how amazing his eyes were, how easy it was for me to get completely lost in them. "Thanks for kidnapping me," I said softly.

"Yeah, you were a tough job, but I pulled it off," he said with a chuckle.

I moved closer to him, so I could wrap my arms around him and play with his hair. And continue to stare at him.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" he murmured.

"Because I love you," I replied. "And cuz you're gorgeous."

He smiled, letting his hand trail down my back, up and down. I loved that. Rough was fun, but this was...nice.

"Kiss me," I said.

"No argument there." He pulled me closer to him, kissing me, softly at first, then deepening the kiss, brushing his tongue across my lower lip. I moaned against his mouth, pressing my body into his, loving the way his hand tangled through my hair and held my head still so he could kiss me passionately. I wrapped a leg around his waist, and I could feel him getting excited through his jeans.

"Baby..." I moaned. I tugged at the hem of his shirt, and he pulled away so he could pull it off. "Mmm, much better," I said, sliding my hands over his chest. "God I love your body...you're so sexy."

"You're sexier, baby..." he responded, kissing my neck, making me purr like a cat. He moved lower, unbuttoning my shirt, kissing every spot of new skin that was revealed. I arched into him, loving it.

"Please don't tease me tonight, baby..." I whispered.

"No teasing tonight, Sam..." he murmured against my flesh. "Just me...you...in this big bed...away from everything."

BEEP.

Oh, son of a bitch. That's my phone.

"Don't answer that," Freddie growled, lifting his head.

"It might be Carly!" I said. "I won't text her back, I just wanna see what she said." I rolled over to look at my phone.

Carly: Second. Base. Amazing.

I laughed, before turning the phone off. Good for Carly, but I had a few bases of my own I wanted to get to tonight.

"What'd it say?" Freddie asked as he busied himself with pulling my shirt off my shoulders, before kissing them.

"Carly's getting groped."

"Good for her, don't turn that thing back on until we leave," he replied, reaching around me to unhook my bra. He pulled it off and tossed it to the side. "Have I mentioned lately how beautiful you are?"

"Freddie..." I said self-consciously.

"What? You are. I think you're perfect."

I didn't respond, just kissed him, rubbing my chest against him. God, I loved that feeling. His skin was amazing. I could stay like this forever. I felt his hands trail down to the front of my jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping before inching them down over my hips.

"What did I say about the skinny jeans?" he complained, sitting up to pull them off me.

"You love the way my ass looks in skinny jeans," I replied.

"Yeah but I like the way your ass looks without them even more," he said with a grin, finally getting them off. I lifted myself up to do the same to him, though I had an easier time with his baggier jeans. He stood up to pull them off before climbing back onto the bed, resting his weight on his arms, kissing me. My arms went around his neck, lightly running my nails up and down his back.

"Don't you scratch me," he warned, nibbling on my ear.

"I'm not," I whispered. "I don't want rough right now."

"Thought you liked it rough." He planted a kiss behind my ear and I shivered.

"I do," I said, trying to keep my thoughts straight as he continued licking and nibbling at the sensitive spots on my neck and ears. "But not all the time...I like it slow too, but sometimes I just..."

"Like taking out your frustration on me in the sack?" he asked with a laugh. "Me too."

Ugh, this was why I loved that boy so much. He just GOT me. Nobody else even came close to understanding my brain, or my ridiculous anger bouts, or why I was the way I was. I didn't even have to explain it, he just GOT it. He got my obsession with control, and sometimes he refused to acquiesce, forcing me to give up control, and that was good too. It was odd, but having it completely jerked away from me somehow made me feel safer. He'd had me totally at his mercy many times before, biting me, throwing me around, messing with my head, and guess what? Nothing bad happened. I hadn't gotten hurt. Any other girl would have freaked out and been emotionally scarred from the way he'd manhandled me right before Carly's party, but it had done the opposite for me. He had forced me into being vulnerable, which I feared more than anything, and pushed me right to the edge. And I didn't get hurt. He was the only person I could really trust not to hurt me. God, I loved him.

Okay, I was still a control freak, but I guess handing the control over to him every now and then wasn't so bad. He thought he was so good at hiding how insecure he was, but I could see right through it. His need to always be right, his gym addiction that had popped up over the last few months, even his newfound desire to constantly get into fights. It could all be traced back to his insecurities about not being manly enough. Well, fuck that, he was definitely manly enough for me, and I'd decided already that I was just going to hand him the reigns and let him "be the man" all weekend. Even if it did annoy me, it'd boost his poor ego a bit.

"You're zoning out," he murmured in my ear, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry," I responded before kissing him.

"What are you thinking about?" He ran his hands up and down the sides of my body, tickling me a little bit.

"Us."

His brow furrowed. "What about us?"

"How good we are together. And how much I love you."

He smiled. "I love you too, baby." He kissed my collarbone, and I moaned a little bit. It was such a sensitive spot. I let my head fall back on the massive pile of pillows as he kissed lower, right between my breasts. I groaned.

"You said no teasing tonight."

"I'm not teasing you, baby. I'm enjoying your body."

"Oh." I responded. I gasped suddenly as his mouth covered my left breast. "Ohhhh!" I moaned again as I felt his hand massage the right one, the fingertips of his other hand continuing to trail up and down my side. "Baby, this feels so good...don't stop."

I felt him briefly switch over from my left breast to my right before kissing down my body, pausing to kiss over the horrible scar on my ribcage before moving to kiss my stomach. His hands went to my waist, grabbing my boyshorts and pulling them down over my legs. He moved back up, kissing me, our tongues rubbing against each other.

"Do you love me?" he asked as he tore his mouth away from mine to kiss my neck again. I arched my back and leaned my head back so he could have better access.

"Very much," I replied, gasping as his lips found my collarbone again. God, why was I so sensitive there?

"Tell me again. Please." he said, almost sounding desperate.

"I love you, Freddie. You know that," I replied. He better not go back to that 'say my name' shit again, or I would break my promise and smack him upside the head. I was not in the mood for that tonight!

He lifted his head to look at me. "I'm scared to lose you."

My jaw dropped. Damn, Sam. He wasn't looking for an ego boost, he was feeling insecure. And how odd. Here I'd been worrying about the nub getting sick of me and he was afraid of the same thing!

"Freddie!" I cried. "You're not gonna lose me. I love you so much!" He kissed me fiercely.

"I love you too, Sam." I felt something wet drop on my face, and gasped.

"Freddie, don't cry! Oh my god!" I said, hugging him against me. "Baby, you will never lose me. Even if you try!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear, choked up. "I can't help it. I worry about it, you know?"

"Well stop it!" I said firmly. I pushed at his shoulders, rolling him onto his back so I was on top of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking up at me.

"Shut up, nub," I responded before kissing him. "You can be in charge later, it's my turn now." I kissed his neck before nibbling on his ear, enjoying the way it made him groan, and trailed my lips down over his chest, then his amazing abs, oh man...he had amazing, incredible, sexy abs. I ran my tongue around each and every defined muscle before licking around the waistband of his boxer shorts. I looked up at him to find him watching me intently, and I jerked his boxers down over his hips. Yep, everything was in working order, guess his injury had completely healed. I smiled at him mischievously before licking up the length of his manhood. He moaned, his head going back.

"Oh, god..." he groaned. "Baby that feels so good."

"Doesn't hurt?" I asked.

"No," he gasped out.

"What if I lick right here?" I asked, my tongue going directly to where he had been kicked last weekend, and was rewarded by a loud, short yell, his back arching.

"Jesus Christ!" he gasped out. "Shit...baby...you've never done that before, oh my god!"

"Feel good?"

"Yeah...damn...and kind of a shock..." he laughed. I took a mental note that he really liked that before going back to licking up and down his erection like it was a lollipop before taking all of him in my mouth.

"God, Sam..." he groaned, his hips moving on their own. "Baby, that feels so...good..."

"You know what feels better?" I asked, stroking him.

"What?"

"This," I replied in my sexiest voice, before straddling him. I moaned and let my head fall back as I felt him enter me. God I loved the way he felt!

"Sam!" he moaned. "Damn, baby, you gotta warn me before you do that..."

"Sorry," I responded, leaning forward to kiss him, moving my hips in a figure eight motion. I broke the kiss to lean back, feeling him grab my hips and work my body against his, making me cry out. "Ohhh...Freddie...you feel so good!"

He sat up suddenly, one arm going around my waist and the other going into my hair so he could pull my mouth to his, kissing me passionately. My arms went around his neck, continuing to grind my hips into him.

"Oh, baby...this feels so damn good." I moaned as he lowered his head to lick and suck at my breasts. Oh god...there was nothing on earth that could make me feel this way except him! I could feel my legs shaking, my back arching against my will, my hips moving frantically, faster than I intended. I gripped his shoulders tightly. "Freddie! Oh god..." I cried. "I...I'm...oh...ohhhh...OH GOD!" My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I felt my entire body tense up and then release, quaking against him. "Oh my god...Freddie...ohhhh..."

I could tell he was getting close as well, he always held me a little bit tighter right when he was about to explode, and he always lifted his hips a little, like he was trying to go deeper. I gasped when he did that, rubbing against my most sensitive spot. I was going to reach my peak all over again, I could feel it. But I wanted to help push him over the edge, too. I nibbled and licked at his earlobe softly, before whispering into it.

"God, Freddie...baby...I love you so much," I whispered.

"Uhhh...Sam...fuck...baby..." he moaned, trying hard not to explode.

"Don't hold back, baby," I whispered. "I love you."

He ground his hips against me frantically, and I could hear his breathing getting more and more ragged. Good, he was right there, so close. And the way he was moving, I was right there too. Just a little bit more...I lightly raked my nails over his back, not to scratch, just to give him more to feel, and he buried his face in my neck, gripping my hips tightly.

"Sam...Sam...fuck...oh god...SAM!" he cried out, his voice muffled against my neck.

Oh, god. Resolve, gone. I felt my own orgasm take over, and I began shaking uncontrollably.

"Ohhhh...ohh...Aaah!" I squeaked, my entire world shattering around me.

Freddie managed to get his composure back first, laying back down with me on top of him, still shaking. His hand went to my back, stroking up and down. I shivered at the contact, and waited a moment to regain my bearings before getting off of him and laying down next to him, my head resting on his shoulder.

"That was amazing," he said. "You're amazing."

I smiled, before lifting my head to kiss him. "Feel better?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good." I sat up suddenly, grabbing the menu off the bedside table. "Ordering food now."

"K," Freddie responded.

I sat there perusing the menu for a good twenty minutes, pondering all the options. I could eat everything on this menu! I love classy hotels!

"Hey, Freddie, want..." I looked up to see his eyes shut, breathing softly. "...to sleep," I finished to myself. I smiled, biting my bottom lip. He was so cute like that. My stomach growled in disagreement, and I grumbled to myself before picking up the phone and dialing room service.


	37. Chapter 37: A Taste of Honey

**A/N: Working on Chapter 38 right now, sorry for the slower than usual updates and the sort of short chapter, been on babysitting detail...it is very hard to write when there's five screaming kids running around. Anyway, this is kind of a transitional chapter. **

**Chapter Thirty Seven:  
><strong>**A Taste of Honey**

~*Carly*~

I was sitting upstairs with Brad in the studio going over notes for the show when the door slung open to reveal Melanie, skidding across the wooden floor in her socks.

"Carly! Spencer's back from his date! And he brought her back here!"

Thud. I dropped my notebook to the floor and leapt to my feet. "Okay, I GOTTA see this!"

"Carly," Brad warned. "Don't be the bratty annoying sister! Trust me, it's not a fun thing to deal with."

I shrugged. "I have nothing to do until Sam comes back tomorrow. I'm bored!"

"So, first you say you're sick of drama, and now that there's no drama, you want it back?"

I wrinkled my nose. "I don't know...I don't have time for this...I gotta see this chick before she leaves. Let's go!"

Brad shook his head. "I'll be up here, fooling around with the camera. I better learn this stuff or Freddie's gonna have my ass."

"I think he's pretty happy with having my sister's ass, actually..." Melanie trailed off.

"Ew!" I hollered. "Come on, we're stalling!" I grabbed Melanie's arm and yanked her out of the room and we snuck downstairs, peering over the railing.

"I know you're there, Carly," Spencer called over his shoulder. "Why don't you stop being all secret agent and come down here?"

"Uhhh...I wasn't being secret agent..." I muttered as I walked down the stairs, Melanie right behind me.

I peered at the girl sitting at our kitchen table next to Spencer. She definitely didn't look like the artsy type. She was blonde, VERY blonde, with big blue eyes and perfectly manicured nails, in a kelly green polo shirt and dark colored jeans. She was thin and looked like she'd be tall, but I couldn't tell for sure with her sitting down.

"Carly, this is April. April, this is my little sister."

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you!" she gushed. "Spencer's told me a lot about you!" She extended her hand, and I shook it. Wow, somebody's a big fan of moisturizer. Her hands were so soft it was like she hadn't worked a day in her life!

"Hi, nice to meet you too. Uh, this is my friend Melanie," I said, gesturing to the little blonde peering over my shoulder.

"Hi, Melanie!" April responded with a smile. Melanie peered at her closely.

"Is that a Chanel bag?" she asked, gesturing to April's purse.

"Yes, it is!" April send. "I got it last fall, in..."

"Paris? I went to boarding school with a girl who had the same exact bag."

"Yeah, in Paris! I try to go there every year, it's beautiful there," April replied.

Paris? Chanel? Okay, this girl DEFINITELY didn't seem like an artist!

"So Spencer said you're an artist? What kind of art do you do?" I asked.

"Mostly oil-paintings, some sculptures, but most of my paid work comes from painting restoration. I love abstract and modern art, but I just don't have the knack for it for some reason. I LOVE Spencer's work," she gushed. "When I saw the pieces he'd brought in, I just had to talk to him..."

"Oh, so you're like...classically trained?" I asked.

"Uh-huh. I studied in Italy for a year, best decision I ever made."

"She's a really amazing painter, Carly. Completely different from the work I do, but amazing."

I nodded. "Wow, that's really cool! Maybe you guys could exchange ideas or collaborate or something."

"Oh, we plan to!" April said with a smile, looking at Spencer. Spencer couldn't stop staring at her, he looked all gushy and love-sick. Was that how I looked at Brad?

"Well, we're gonna go upstairs, it was really nice meeting you!" Melanie said, grabbing my arm and yanking me towards the stairs.

"Bye, nice meeting you!" I called. We started heading up to the studio, but I stopped her in the hallway. "What the hell was that about?"

"That girl is LOADED!" Melanie exclaimed.

"What? You say that because of one designer label purse?"

"Uh, no! That's a five thousand dollar purse, Carly! That she got during FASHION WEEK in Paris? And the Tiffany necklace? The Louboutin shoes? Studying art in Italy? Did you see her teeth, she had veneers!" Melanie said, her hands on her hips. "Spencer's got a rich girl on his hands there!"

"Okay, how the hell do you know all of this?" I replied, annoyed. The Puckett twins didn't exactly grow up in the lap of luxury, her mom had signed up for every government assistance program known to man!

"Uh, boarding school? Hello! I spent twenty four hours a day for six years straight with some of the most spoiled, shallow girls on the planet, all richer than you could even imagine! I can spot a designer label a mile away!"

Ugh, Melanie. Always pretending to be holier-than-thou over the whole boarding school issue! I mean, she'd been there on a scholarship, so it wasn't like she was one of those rich girls just because she went to the same school. Melanie continued ranting.

"You know, I guarantee she's got a trust fund! And she's probably just dating Spencer to piss off her rich daddy or something! I'd watch her if I were you!"

"Okay, did it ever occur to you that they're both artists? They have a lot in common, and Spencer can be a really sweet guy when he wants to be! And since when are you so down on rich people? I mean...Mel, come on," I said pointedly.

"I don't like rich people. I lived with them. They think they're better than everyone. I hated being around it all the time!" Melanie responded.

"Then why'd you stay at boarding school? You could have just came back here and gone to normal school with normal kids. Why wait until now?" I asked her.

I don't know how to describe it, but this look flashed across Melanie's face. A very odd look I couldn't put my finger on, but very reminiscent of one of Sam's looks. It was like intense fear and sorrow and rage and hatred all rolled into one. And then, just like that, it was gone.

"I'd rather not talk about that," she said sweetly. She quickly changed the subject. "Do you want to order a pizza?" With that, she headed up to the studio, leaving me standing in the hallway, alone and perplexed. Maybe Sam wasn't the only one who had trouble with her mom. My thoughts quickly shifted from Melanie to Spencer, frowning. What if Melanie was right and this April girl was just using Spencer for parental revenge, or a quick fling or something?

"CARLY!" I heard Brad yell. "Get your cute butt up here!"

Oh well, I'd have time to ponder things later, it was too early to go off the deep end about Spencer, and I didn't really have any business poking around in Melanie's life either. I walked up to the studio and tried to clear my head.

~*Freddie*~

"Jesus fucking Christ, Freddie!" Sam gasped. "Stop teasing me!"

"Thought you liked it when I tease you..." I trailed off as I continued to lick and bite at her hip bones. I was having to use all my strength to keep her from bucking off the bed, and it was getting more and more difficult. God, I loved driving her crazy like this. "I can stop if you'd like..."

"No...yes...fuck...I don't know...oh god..." she shuddered as I licked a slow trail up over her ribcage, going between her breasts to lick at her collarbone, which I knew drove her crazy. I felt her hands tangle through my hair, gripping it hard enough to cause some pain and I hissed, grabbing her wrists and pulling them back down at her sides.

"Be nice," I reminded her, nipping at her collarbone.

"Fuck nice," she growled, jerking her hands away and shoving at my shoulders, rolling me onto my back before straddling me. She grabbed my chin and kissed me roughly, and I moaned against her mouth.

We'd been doing this for awhile, another one of our games, trying to see who could tease the other one into submission first. Her will was strong and so was mine, neither one of us wanted to give in and we'd been rolling around on the bed like we were wrestlers for the past hour or so. I loved it, and so did she. I let her think she had the upper hand for a moment, before flipping her off me again, this time on her stomach, before grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her head back so I could kiss her again. In this position she couldn't scratch me, and that gave me a little more control over the situation. I ground my hips into her, letting her feel how much she turned me on.

"You're not playing fair now," she whined as I interlaced our fingers so I could pin her arms down. I kissed over the back of her neck softly, enjoying the way it made her shiver. I grabbed both of her wrists with one hand so I could use the other to reach underneath her, rubbing at her most sensitive spot, continuing to lick and kiss the back of her neck.

"Aah!" she cried out, wriggling a little bit. "God, that feels good..."

I let go of her arms so I could trail my hand up and down her back. In retrospect it was a bad move, because she suddenly scooted forward before completely getting off the bed. I sat up, glaring at her, shaking my head.

"Get your ass back over here, now," I said firmly. She just shook her head back at me before backing up slowly, sitting down in one of the huge leather armchairs that were in the room. She leaned back, her legs open, letting me get an amazing view of her beautiful body.

"Sam..." I warned.

"You want me, you gotta come get me," she responded with a sweet smile. That was all the invitation I needed, I got up and walked over to where she sat, bending over to kiss her, my arms hooking underneath her knees to pull her closer to me. Her arms went around my neck and she bucked her hips against me, making me groan against her mouth.

We'd already managed to destroy the bed, defile the shower, and I'd surprised her in the jacuzzi tub by making good use of the jets on her more sensitive areas, the chair was the only spot we hadn't done it yet. But I wasn't ready to end the game just yet. We were going to keep going until one of us gave in and started begging.

She suddenly caught me off guard by grabbing my hair with one hand, yanking my head back. She wrapped her other around my manhood before sinking her teeth into my shoulder. Oh, fuck.

"Damn!" I yelled. It hurt and felt amazing all at the same time...that was what drove me the craziest, and she knew it. Damn, she had me right where she wanted me. She ground her hips against me, continuing to slowly pump me up and down. Continuing to bite me. I was a goner.

"Fuck, baby..." I said, half frustration, half warning to her that if she kept it up like this the game would be over very soon.

"You give up?" she said against my neck, licking over it. I groaned, shaking my head.

"Hell no."

"I said, do you give up?" she purred, gripping me a little bit harder to let me know she wasn't fooling around this time.

"Uhhh...fuck..." I groaned. I couldn't even clear my head long enough to pull her off me! She wrapped her legs around me, pulling me closer to her, her teeth gripping my earlobe, flicking her tongue against it. She was fighting dirty now, if I moved just an inch closer I'd be inside her, but she wasn't going to let that happen. Not until I gave in.

"Say you give up," she growled, lifting her hips a little to rub against me.

"No way," I responded.

She shrugged. "Fine." She moved against me, and for a split second I was inside her before she pulled back.

"Damn! That's cheating!" I yelled.

"I play to win," she responded, wrapping her hand around me again and squeezing roughly. Oh, so it's like that now? I finally gathered the strength to pull away and picked her up before tossing her on the bed.

"So do I," I said with a growl before capturing her mouth with mine.

There was no telling how long this could go on, possibly for hours, but damn, it was fun.

~*Brad*~

"I can't find the peanut butter!" Melanie yelled at Carly as she rummaged around the kitchen.

"Did you check the bathroom?" I asked. Melanie looked at me strangely.

"Why would it be in the bathroom?"

"I've been trying to figure that out for years," Carly commented, stretched out across the couch, her head laying in my lap. I watched Melanie skip across the living room to the bathroom, trying desperately not to roll my eyes.

Okay, honestly, I was getting a little tired of Melanie constantly hanging around. It was really cutting into our makeout time, and besides that, I liked hanging out with Carly one on one, just me and her. Melanie was like a more annoying version of Sam with none of Sam's biting wit. I really hoped when she started at Ridgeway she'd find her own group of friends, it wasn't like she really had much in common with any of us anyway.

"It's not in the bathroom," Melanie said as she walked back into the living room.

Carly sat up suddenly with a sigh, tired of Melanie's whining. "Fine, I'll go ask Spencer." She stood up and began walking to Spencer's bedroom. I heard the door creek open, and Carly speaking, though I couldn't make out what she was saying.

"AAAAH!"

A moment later, Carly came tearing through the living room. "Oh my god, ew ew ew! Aaaah!" She said, bouncing up and down.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, standing up suddenly.

"I...Spencer...April...they're...oh my god ewww!" she said.

"What?" I asked. "Is Spencer gettin' some or something?"

"Yes! Oh my god!" Carly cried. "Do you realize this means she slept over?" she hissed. "He's never had a girl sleep over before!"

"Well, shouldn't you be happy for him, if he's made to almost thirty and hasn't had a girl in this apartment yet?" I replied.

"Ugh, I don't know!" Carly said. "He could have locked the door or something!"

"Well, guess you learned not to barge in on your brother, huh?" I replied, flopping back down on the couch. "Let Spence have his fun!"

"Yeah, it looked like he was having a LOT of fun..." she trailed off. "And ew, who puts out on the first date?"

"Well, actually..."

Carly held her arm up. "Shut up, Melanie." She turned to me. "I need to get out of here."

"We can go shoot pool," I offered.

"Ooh, I love pool!" Melanie said. I sighed, my head hanging down. No, no, no.

"I dunno, Mel, you may break a nail," I said, trying to irritate her into not wanting to go. I was surprised the way she suddenly narrowed her eyes at me.

"I could make you cry like a little girl in pool," she stated, hands on her hips. I scoffed.

"Yeah, I doubt that."

"Really?" she said, her eyebrows going up. "Would you like to put money on that?"

"How much money we talking?" I asked.

"Brad..." Carly warned. "This isn't a good idea."

"Oh, come on, Carly! I mean..." I trailed off, looking at Melanie pointedly. We were talking about a prissy boarding school princess here, and I could always use the extra money. Maybe once I beat her, she'd back off a little and stop being so annoying.

"Fifty bucks," Melanie said. Ooh, big money for such a little girl. She was probably used to beating her schoolmates in their rec room or something. The trust fund brigade was a lot different than playing pool against a guy who spent most of his spare time at the pool hall.

"Fifty sounds good," I commented. "Or we could make it a little more interesting and make it seventy five."

"BRAD!" Carly yelled. "This is getting out of hand!"

Melanie crossed her arms over her chest. "A hundred."

"Deal!" I said. This would be the easiest hundred bucks ever.

Carly's hands went up in frustration. "Fine, you guys! Let's go get this over with!"

"Hold on, let me get my sweater," Melanie said, grabbing her baby pink sweater with little poodles embroidered on it off the counter. I smirked, before walking to the front door and pulling it open.

"After you, ladies..." I said. Melanie walked out first, Carly just stood in front of me, glaring at me, before shaking her head and walking out the door.

~*Sam*~

"Can I turn my phone back on now?" I whined at Freddie. "We're checking out in like two hours anyway."

"Does it really hurt you that much to go forty eight hours without talking to Carly?" he grunted.

"Yes, it does! It physically hurts!" I cried. "I need my Carly!"

"Fine, be my guest," he responded, tossing my phone at me. I caught it, quickly pressing the "on" button, waiting for it to load.

Beep. Ooh, a text message.

Beep. Another.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. The texts just kept on coming.

"Jesus Christ!" Freddie complained. "Let me guess, all from Carly?"

"Yep..." I responded. "Hmm, let's see...bragging about second base...hmm," I laughed. "Big deal kid, I've hit so many homeruns I've lost count. Uhh, Melanie's annoying, big surprise...wait...ooh!" I cried. "Freddie!"

"What's up?"

"Spencer had a girl sleep over last night!" I said. "About damn time!"

"Cool," Freddie grumbled, laying across the bed with one arm thrown over his eyes. I put my phone down and laid next to him.

"What's wrong, baby?" I asked, kissing his neck. His arm came off his face, wrapping around me instead.

"Don't wanna leave," he mumbled. "Back to school, back to drama...ugh."

"Aww, baby," I said, laying my head against his chest. "I had so much fun with you this weekend. I don't want to go back either, but we gotta."

"I was just thinking though..." Freddie trailed off, his hand running up and down my back absentmindedly. "My mom's been pretty good about not being up in our business, but it's not the same as having our own place. And Carly's right across the hall, Brad's downstairs, now Melanie's right across the hall. It's like a drama warzone."

"So what are you saying?" I asked.

"Maybe get our own place?" Freddie replied.

"Yeah, but where are we gonna get the money for that?"

"Well...there's the college fund."

I smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "You are not cashing in your college fund to pay for an apartment, nub. We already have a place to stay rent-free. Your mom's been saving that money up since you were like two!"

Freddie shrugged. "It was just a suggestion. Maybe I can hold out until we graduate, but beyond that..." he trailed off. "I'm talking like day after graduation, Sam."

"So...you want to move out of Bushwell entirely?" I asked, surprised. Freddie shrugged.

"Maybe. I don't know. I mean, at least a different floor, Sam!" Freddie replied. "I didn't realize how bad it was until we got away from it for a few days."

I shrugged. "It's life, baby. Besides, if you had to put up with me all day just the two of us, I'd start pissing you off."

"Nah, I'd take care of it," he replied.

"Oh really?" I lifted my head to look at him. "And how would you do that?"

"Spank you," he replied, a mischievous look on his face, before smacking me on the ass.

"Ah!" I squeaked, getting up to straddle him, pinning his arms over his head. He gave me an amused look.

"Really, Sam?" he asked, before easily lifting his arms up, grabbing my wrists and pulling them behind my back, kissing my neck.

"When's check out time?" I asked breathlessly as his mouth trailed lower.

"Two hours."

I jerked my arms free, my hands going to his shoulders and pushing him back hard onto the bed. "Plenty of time to make you scream." I said, before ripping his shirt over his head.


	38. Chapter38:Step Inside LoveLos Paranoia

**A/N: Took me all damn day due to distractions of every sort, but finally got it done. Juicy lemony goodness with a psychological twist (as always.) Gets a little intense. Also, is Melanie good or is Melanie bad? Does Sam have a right to hate her, or is she wrong? I'll never tell, you'll have to read future chapters to find out!**

**Chapter Thirty Eight:  
><strong>**Step Inside Love (Los Paranoia)**

~*Carly*~

"Come on, come on! Hurry up!" I yelled at Brad and Melanie as we stepped off the elevator.

Melanie came skipping off the elevator, waving her wad of cash around, turning to Brad and smelling the money.

"Nothing like two hundred crispies..." she said with a grin. Brad scowled, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You could have told me her uncle's a pool shark, Carly!" Brad complained. I shrugged.

"I told you not to make a bet, didn't I?" I responded. "And I told you not to double it, but you just didn't listen!"

"She threw the first three shots on purpose! I thought I had it in the bag!" Brad shouted. He glared at Melanie. "That's some evil shit right there!"

Melanie shrugged. "That's what you get."

"Okay, come on!" I yelled. "Come on come on come on!"

"Jeez, Carly, you act like you've been away from Sam for years!" Brad said as I dragged him down the hallway. "It's been two days!"

"I don't care!" I yelled, letting go of him to tear down the hallway, flinging up open the door to my apartment, only to find Spencer and April making out on the couch. Oh, god. I cleared my throat. "Uh, guys..."

"Sam and Freddie are in the studio," Spencer responded, not even looking at me. "Go, now!"

"Geez, sorry...you have a bedroom you know..." I trailed off, before giving up and heading toward the stairs. As I did, I had a horrific thought. Spencer and April were on the couch, and Sam and Freddie were upstairs, in the studio, alone. Oh man, they better not be doing anything dirty in there! I nervously approached the door. It was open. That could be either a really good sign, or it could mean they were in such a hurry they didn't bother closing the door. Ew. I nervously peered my head around the door.

Oh, thank god.

Sam and Freddie were both standing in front of the big monitor, watching the replay of our webcast. Sam actually appeared to be...nice, she was rubbing Freddie's neck with one hand and scribbling notes in her notebook with the other, bent over the desk. I stood outside for a moment, just listening.

"I don't understand," Freddie said. "What could he have possibly done to make the entire feed shoot in black and white?"

"I dunno, but would you look at Melanie? She's not even funny...I mean...llamas? Really? And she keeps shaking her boobs around!" Sam exclaimed. "Worst idea ever!"

"Maybe, but was it worth it?" Freddie responded. I wanted to say "awww" out loud as I watched Freddie wrap his arms around Sam, kissing her neck. They really were sweet together, especially when they thought no one was watching them.

Okay, I was being a creeper. I cleared my throat before walking into the studio. "Hey guys!" I said. "How'd it go?"

"CARLY!" Sam yelled, grabbing me and pulling me into a hug.

"SAM!" I cried. "I'm so happy you're back! How was the weekend?"

"Amazing!" Sam said. "I mean, really...really...really amazing."

"Sam," Freddie warned. "What'd I tell you?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Not to talk about our sex life with Carly anymore."

"Yeah, exactly." Freddie turned around and started fiddling with his laptop.

"I'll tell you later," Sam whispered to me.

"I HEARD THAT!"

I rolled my eyes. "So...other than that it was a good weekend?"

"Yeah, it was really nice," Sam responded. "Where's my evil twin?"

"Uh, she and Brad are having it out in the middle of the hallway," I replied.

Sam made a strange face. "Why?"

"Well, we went to the pool hall, and..."

Sam groaned, rolling her eyes. "You didn't tell him about our Uncle Carmine, did you?"

"Nope."

"So how much did he lose?"

"Two hundred," I responded. "But I mean...he shouldn't have put money on it."

"Yeah, well, you'd better go out there and find them, before Melanie manages to steal your boyfriend AND his money," Sam replied.

"Sam, she's not that bad," I replied.

BANG! I jumped at the sudden noise of Brad slamming the studio door behind him.

"That girl is the devil! She's gotta go!"

Sam looked at me pointedly.

"What'd she do now?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.

"She keeps taking my money!" Brad yelled. "She made a bet with me that I couldn't do more backhandsprings than her! And I can do like five in a row!"

"Brad, she's a competitive gymnast!" Sam yelled. "Stop making bets with her, that's what she does!"

"You make bets too," Freddie pointed out.

"Yeah, but not for money," Sam replied. "At least not anymore." She grinned mischievously at him, and he gave her a look like he wanted to jump on her right then and there. They just kept staring at each other. I felt like they were going to start going at it any second!

"Okay, that's enough!" I said, stepping between them. "God, didn't you guys get it out of your system this weekend?"

"Nope," they both said. I rolled my eyes as Sam stepped around me, handing the notebook she'd been scribbling in to Freddie, who began perusing through it. He snapped out of whatever trance Sam had him in, glaring at Brad.

"What?" Brad said.

"You and I need to talk," he responded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Black and white? And the sound went down for almost thirty seconds! Not to mention, the frame was off, WAY off. This isn't gonna cut it, dude."

"Look, I don't do shooting, I do editing!" Brad defended himself. "Dude, I'm sorry, I was off my game!"

"Yeah, no kidding!" Freddie responded.

The door swung open, and in walked Melanie, still counting her money. "Hey guys!" she said in an upbeat voice. She stared for a second at her sister, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Hey, Sam."

"Melanie." Sam replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

I looked back and forth at the twins nervously. God, Melanie was making a slight effort, especially for a Puckett, but Sam wasn't budging an inch, and Melanie would probably only last a few more minutes before she started sniping right back at her sister.

"So how was your weekend?" Melanie asked.

"Awesome. Yours?"

"Profitable." she waved the stack of money back and forth, and I heard Brad swear under his breath. "So I'm all set to start Ridgeway tomorrow. Just in time for cheerleading tryouts."

"Ooh, cheerleading, there's a shocker," Sam said sarcastically.

"Sam..." I warned under my breath. "You said you'd be nice."

"This is the best I can do right now," she replied. "So you like staying here at Carly's, huh? Just like boarding school, except there's only one snob instead of dozens." I gaped at Sam, shocked. What happened to going away for the weekend so her ass could calm down? She'd been back all of ten minutes and she was already out for blood!

Melanie had given up. "Better than living on the streets, like you would have me do."

"But hobosity fits you so well," Sam fired back.

'Hobosity?' I mouthed to Freddie, who just shrugged, shaking his head.

"So I do you a solid and this is how you repay me?" Melanie snapped. "I don't even know why I bother, Sam! Nothing's ever gonna change, is it? You're ALWAYS gonna hate me!"

"The way I see it, you still owe me for the millions of BEATINGS I got because of you!" Sam yelled.

Oh, shit, things were about to go back to drama city again.

"It's not my fault you didn't have the common sense to go get in the damn tree!" Melanie yelled.

"Because I'm not a pussy! I'm not gonna go climb a tree like a fucking cat!" Sam hollered, taking a step towards her sister. "Let's see if you can still climb, cuz I'm about to beat the shit outta you if you don't haul ass right now!"

"Okay, that's enough of that!" Freddie said, grabbing Sam's arm and yanking her back. "Calm down! You too Melanie! Will you guys stop it? You're sisters for fuck's sake!"

Sam growled, rolling her eyes. "Fine. I'll be...nice."

"Mel?" I asked her.

"Fine, I'll try to be nice too."

"Okay, good! Everyone's gonna be nice."

"Brad's not gonna be nice," Brad grumbled. "Brad wants his money back."

"Brad needs to quit falling for it hook line and sinker then," I said pointedly. "Now, everybody shut up, get happy, and let's go get some smoothies. We have much to talk about."

"Good point," Sam said. "Brad obviously needs a camera tutorial, we have to write bits for this week's webcast, Freddie and I are WAYYYY behind on school and homework, and the preggo-watch website still needs to be taken out!" Sam grabbed my arm, pulling me to her. "And I still have to tell you what Freddie did to me in the jacuzzi tub, holy lord," she whispered.

"Jacuzzi tub?" I couldn't help myself from blurting it out aloud.

"SAM!" Freddie yelled.

~*Sam*~

I leapt to my feet as I heard the front door open.

"Sam!" Freddie called, shutting the door behind him. "I'm back from the gy-" He didn't even get a chance to finish what he was saying before I'd rushed over to him, slamming him into the door and pressing my lips against his.

"You, me, bedroom, right now..." I growled against his mouth.

"Baby, let me shower first, I'm all sweaty..."

"Don't care," I responded. "I like you sweaty." To demonstrate, I licked a slow trail up his sweaty neck, grinding my hips against his.

I was in a bad mood. A really bad mood. I was anxious, pissed off, tense, aggravated, all kinds of negative emotions, I wanted relief, and I wanted it now. After we'd went to get smoothies and try to figure out what to do about the latest disaster of a webcast, Freddie and Brad decided to go to the gym, probably to trade stories about what they did to us girls over the weekend. Stupid boys, it was okay for them to talk, but not for me and Carly to divulge details. I'd wanted to hang out with Carly tonight while Freddie was working out, but Melanie was hogging her. Stupid Melanie. I didn't care what Freddie said, Melanie was trying to take over my entire life. First with the show, then by trying to become best buds with Carly...it was only a matter of time before she tried to swipe my clothes and drug Freddie so she could bang him! Not gonna happen! Too bad I'd promised Freddie I'd be nice. Sure, I'd act nice, as nice as I possibly could, but in my head I could think all the horrible thoughts I wanted, and some I didn't want. Particularly the thought that she was after Freddie. I loved Carly dearly, and the show was a big part of my life, but nothing would compare to the emotional blow I would take if I lost Freddie. Ugh, I was going crazy thinking about it! The only thing that could bring me out of my head right now was a good dose of Freddie.

"Baby," he laughed. "Come on, I'm all gross..." I kissed him again, a bit rougher this time.

"Shut up," I responded firmly. "I want you to pick me up, carry me to our room, and throw me on the bed. Then I want you to rip my clothes off and fuck my brains out. Right now."

Freddie's eyes widened, taken aback by my bluntness after only having been inside the apartment for two minutes. "Did you have a bad night, baby?"

"Yeah, I did," I gruffed. "Now take me back there and fuck me so I can forget about it!"

Freddie laughed a bit, his hands going to my arms, rubbing them up and down, trying to calm me. "Look, baby, just give me five minutes so I can shower, and I promise I'll make you feel better, okay? Just relax, I got ya baby."

"No! Now!" I yelled, sounding like a child throwing a temper tantrum, but I didn't care. I'd been waiting for three hours for Freddie to get back so I could pounce on him, I felt like I was about to go nuts!

"Sam, quit being like that," Freddie responded, unwilling to get into a conflict but unwilling to back down either. "Go wait for me, I'll be right there." He walked right past me into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I was furious, and decided to sulk on the couch, so that when he came out of the bathroom, the first thing he would see would be me, pissed off.

A few minutes later, I felt Freddie's arms wrap around me from behind. Okay, fine, he did smell better, but that wasn't the point, I didn't want to wait! If he would have just done what I'd asked him to do, I'd be well into my second orgasm by now, all thoughts of Melanie's sabotage plan gone! He brushed my hair to the side and kissed my neck.

"Whatcha so upset about, baby?" he murmured in my ear.

"She's trying to steal my best friend too," I complained, arms still crossed over my chest. Freddie sighed. I could tell he didn't want to go into it right now, so I decided to stop myself from complaining any more than I already was. I'd hate to derail a perfectly good session in the sack with an argument, even if make-up sex was super hot, I didn't feel like wasting time. Fortunately, I didn't have to, because Freddie wasn't in the mood for an argument either.

"Get up," he said, in a firm voice. Ooh, bossy Freddie. Yum. I stood up, turning around to look at him, and he pointed in the direction of the bedroom. "Go." Ooh, VERY bossy Freddie. I was in for a good night!

I walked into the bedroom, Freddie close behind me, shutting the door and locking it. I turned around and stared at him, waiting for him to make a move, while at the same time letting my eyes travel over his well-muscled body, clothed in only a pair of those boxer-briefs he looked so sexy in. He looked at me for a moment, as if considering something.

"You sure this is what you want?" he asked. "I told you that you gotta be careful what you wish for." His eyes locked on mine, staring me down, waiting for me to answer.

He did have a point, I'd told him I wanted him to fuck my brains out. Perhaps I needed to be careful about how I worded things, because Freddie could be an animal at times. He knew it, I knew it, and he knew I loved it. As my mind ran through some of our earlier, more intense times together, my eyes continued to roam over his body.

"Look at me," he said sharply. My gaze flicked back up to his automatically. Sometimes I'd challenge him, but not when he talked like that. On nights like this, if I played my cards wrong and pissed him off, he'd tease the shit out of me, sometimes for hours, and my nerves couldn't take that tonight. "You want me to fuck your brains out, is that what you said to me?"

God, he hadn't even touched me yet and I was already breathing heavier, feeling a hot, tingling sensation between my legs. I loved when he talked like this.

"Answer me," he said. Oh man, I loved when he got like this! It seemed like every time we had sex after he'd gotten back from the gym it was always like this, like he was running on nothing but testosterone or something.

"Yeah," I responded.

"Say it."

"I want you to fuck my brains out," I responded, my eyes never leaving his. Well, no going back now, I was done for. In a split second he had crossed the room, grabbing my waist and yanking me towards him, his mouth crashing down on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me tighter against him, kissing me roughly, grabbing my ass. He picked me up suddenly before tossing me onto the bed, just like I had asked for. Oh yeah, I was in for a really good time tonight. I wanted him to make me beg and scream and drive me to the edge over and over and just make me crazy. I wanted him to push my limits and hold my arms down and smack my ass and all kinds of other crazy, naughty things.

Freddie yanked off the tank top and pajama bottoms I was wearing before unhooking my bra and sending it flying before beginning to lick at my collarbone. Aaah, that spot! It felt so, so good. As he bent his head to lick and suck at my breasts, his hands pulled my underwear down over my hips.

"Ah!" I cried out, jerking a little bit when I felt his teeth scrape over my nipple, quickly replacing it with his tongue. God, I loved that boy's mouth! He kissed lower and lower, licking over my ribs, my stomach, oh god, he just bit my pelvic bone...fuck...feels so good. I let my head fall back onto the pillows, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as his mouth found my moist, throbbing center. I'd been thinking about this all night, and I'd been stirred up craving his mouth on me for the last three and a half hours. I felt him pull my legs over his shoulders, and moaned as he licked me more purposefully, his fingers going deep inside me, pressing against my g-spot. I moaned, my hands going to his head and gripping his hair. God, it felt so good when he did this. I loved it. He came back up just when I was getting close to the edge. Ugh, that fucker. I gasped in surprise when he suddenly thrust into me without warning. Damn! I bit his shoulder roughly, making him hiss and thrust even deeper into me.

"God, Freddie!" I cried out.

"Is this what you wanted?" he said in a low voice as he made slow circles with his hips, making me buck against him. Uh, yeah, this is what I wanted!

"Fuck, yes!" I gasped. "God, you feel so good..."

He licked and nibbled at my neck before catching my earlobe between his teeth. I could feel his breath on my ear, it somehow turned me on even more.

"I'm gonna make you crazy," he said into my ear huskily, making me moan. He pulled out suddenly, leaving me acutely disappointed, before surprising me by flipping me over onto my stomach and pushing back into me, lifting my hair out of the way to lick at the back of my neck, biting a bit. He'd never bit me half as hard as I enjoyed biting him, but then again, I wasn't a big fan of marks. Freddie tended to wear them like badges of honor, making no effort at all to cover them up.

God, this felt so fucking good, but I wanted more. It felt like the more he lost control over himself, it meant the more he wanted me, at least that's the way it worked in my twisted head. I extended my arms in front of me, hoping he'd get the hint, and he did, pinning my wrists down before slamming into me hard. I buried my face into the bed and let out a loud moan, fearing if I didn't I'd wake the neighbors...or Marissa. I bucked my hips against him, and he wrapped an arm around my waist to rub at my sensitive womanhood. Oh, fuck. That was almost too much; it almost felt too good. He was right, he WAS making me crazy.

"God, Freddie..." I groaned, my hips moving on their own.

"Feel good, gorgeous?" he whispered in my ear before licking up the side of my neck.

"Yes...yes...god yes..." I moaned as he moved in and out of me. Yeah, this was exactly what I needed tonight, to be forced out of my own head, to not think, to just feel. He let go of my arms to bring his arm under me to rub and toy with my breasts, and I thought I would jump out of my skin. I was bucking against him, shaking, sweating, cursing, moaning...god...I had completely lost it.

"Freddie...fuck...oh my god...oh my god...oh my god...FUCK!" I cried out as he finally pushed me over the edge. He gave me a full three seconds to recover before pulling out and flipping me over again, kissing me, grabbing my hips and pulling me towards him, and then he was back inside me, leaning back so he could rub at my most sensitive spot. Fuck, it was too sensitive, it was too much. I moved my hand down to push his away, but he simply pinned it down effortlessly with his free hand, shaking his head.

"Nope," he said simply.

"God...Freddie...it's too much!" I cried out, shaking uncontrollably.

"Too bad," he growled. "This is what you wanted, right?" I couldn't speak, just moaned in response. He finally did pull his hand away after a minute or so, but by then I had already exploded all over again. He bent down to kiss me, his arm going around my shoulders and then laying back so I was on top of him.

"Sit up," he said. I did, and cried out...god...every motion of his hips made him rub against my g-spot, and it felt soooo good. His hands went to my hips and he ground me against him, doing most of the work. It was taking every bit of strength I had not to fall over, I couldn't possibly put any effort into actually moving. He made me feel so good, it was ridiculous.

I could feel my body tensing again, thighs shaking. I had to lean forward a bit to steady myself, or I would collapse. He hissed as he felt my nails dig into his chest.

"Gonna come again for me baby?" he taunted, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Yeah..." I trailed off. "Oh, god...yes..."

"Well come on then...I don't have all night," he said with a grin. Oh, that little fucker, if my brain had been working properly I would have hit him. Quite the opposite, we both knew he DID have all night, and he would take as long as he damn well pleased with my body. He sat up a bit to lick at my breasts, and one of my hands went to the back of his head as I felt my resolve crumbling. Oh fuck, this was going to be intense. I could tell.

THWACK!

Oh my god. He had actually managed to push me over the edge just by smacking me on the ass. Definitely not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to feel it, and damn, I must be a complete pervert, because I. Loved. It.

"Oh, FUCK...yes!" I cried, not caring if I woke his mother up or not. I was gone. Nothing else mattered except how good this felt. I collapsed, all my strength gone, as I buried my face in his neck, shaking.

"Yeah...there you go, baby..." he whispered in my ear, rubbing my back. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. Oh my god.

Freddie instinctively knew he had pushed me past my breaking point, and he rolled us over again so he was on top, moving in and out of me slowly, kissing me softly. I had gone somewhere into the outer limits and he was trying to rein me back in. He was whispering in my ear, but I was beyond the point of comprehension, my brain had completely shut down. I felt him pick up his pace a little bit, and I knew he was getting close.

"God, baby...you feel so good..." he hissed, burying his face in my shoulder. "Fuck..Sam...god...I'm...fuck!" he groaned as he quaked against me. He laid there for a moment before withdrawing and laying back down next to me, pulling me to him, his fingertips running up and down my back.

"You feel better, baby?" he asked me, kissing my forehead. I nodded softly, still not speaking. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Uh-huh," I mumbled, trying not to sound deaf and dumb, but failing miserably. He laughed.

"Guess I did fuck your brains out, huh?"

"Yeah..." I said, still unable to gather my thoughts completely, but they were slowly starting to come back to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, toying with my hair. "You seem a little bit freaked out."

Dammit, there he was walking around in my brain again! It wasn't that a boundary had been crossed or even toyed with, it was the fact that he could read my brain and my body so easily, most of the time he figured out what I was thinking before I did. In some ways it was scary, in others it was comforting. I didn't know how I'd managed to go all these years without it, and the gnawing feeling that Melanie was trying to steal him away had me scared to death, because I knew if the day came that I were to lose him, I wouldn't be able to cope. God, this whole thing was going to drive me insane. I was absolutely terrified I could lose him, and it was beginning to consume me.

"Sam? Talk to me, baby? Did I push it too far this time?"

"God, no!" I responded truthfully. "It's nothing. Really. I'm sleepy." I sat up, reaching to turn the light off, growling in annoyance when Freddie reached over me to turn the light back on.

"Nope," he said. "You're not gonna pull that on me. Tell me what's bothering you."

I took a deep breath, trying to choose my words carefully, but it all went to shit as words just came spilling out of my mouth against my will. About my frustrations with Melanie being back, the way she looked at him, the way we used to compete against each other in our younger days, and the fear that was beginning to take hold of me. I started out strong, and I tried to stay that way, I swear I did, but by the time I'd finished to tell him what was bothering me I was absolutely bawling.

Freddie didn't speak a word the entire time, just listened to me intently, rubbing my back softly the entire time, kissing me on the forehead occasionally. When I'd managed to get myself so worked up that words had escaped me completely and I'd been reduced to just sobbing against his chest, his hand went to my chin, pulling my head up to look at him.

"You're such an idiot," he said, my eyebrows lifting in surprise, shocked by his bluntness. "How many damn times have I told you I don't want that girl? I want you, Sam!" His voice softened a bit. "You're not really an idiot, but Jesus, Sam! You gotta stop worrying about this! I took you out of here for the weekend so you'd stop worry about it, I just spent the last hour trying to pound all the worry outta you, and you're STILL worrying about it? You're gonna have to get over this! There's nothing she can do that's gonna make me love you any less!" He kissed me. "You're my baby. My sweet, crazy little wildcat. I MARRIED you. There could have been other ways to have gotten you out of the situation you were in. I picked the marriage thing for a reason. I didn't want anyone else to have you. I didn't want anyone else to have ME. I. Fucking. Love. You."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess."

"I'm not putting up with this anymore, Sam. And you're not going to believe me when I tell you this, but she's not after me. Okay? She's not that stupid, she knows you'd kill her if she even tried."

I was silent.

"Say something, please?" he prompted me. I shook my head.

"I don't want to talk anymore..." I trailed off, trying to snuggle up closer. "I just want you to hold me for a little while."

Freddie rolled over on his side, facing me, wrapping both arms around me, almost too tight, but I didn't care. This was the only place I wanted to be.

"I'll hold you like this all night," he whispered in my ear, kissing my neck. "And every night. For the rest of our lives. Okay? Stop worrying about me leaving, baby. I'm not going anywhere."

I nodded against his chest. "Okay," I sighed. "I love you, Freddie."

"I love you too, baby." Freddie let go of me for a second to turn the light back off. "Now go to sleep, we have school tomorrow, we're behind as hell and it's only the first month."


	39. Chapter 39: You Can't Do That

**A/N: Eh, shortish, but setting the stage for other stuff. I've gotten a few inquiries from people about how long I plan to drag this story on, where is it going, etc...well, I didn't expect people to latch on to the story so much! I absolutely love it, my face lights up everytime I get a new review, your comments make me so happy, sometimes even laugh out loud. Anyway, I don't have a clear concise plan on where the story is going, but I'll probably stretch it out til graduation, and if there's enough interest remaining I'll spin it off into a sequel based on the college years. Enjoy, will try to have the next chapter up tonight!**

**Chapter Thirty Nine:  
><strong>**You Can't Do That**

~*Carly*~

"Who is THAT?" Melanie asked me pointedly as we walked down the hallway.

"Uh, Steven Collins. Football player," I responded, going to my locker and unlocking it.

"He's cute. Does he have a girlfriend?"

I shrugged. "I don't know...probably."

"Pity. Who's THAT?"

"Travis McKinney," I said. "Melanie, do you want me to just grab you a yearbook and a highlighter or something?"

Melanie had been in Ridgeway for all of twenty minutes and she was already on a mission to track down every cute guy there. It was a little annoying, and I knew eventually if she kept it up she'd get labeled 'school slut' in no time. She was even dressed a little bit slutty, a tight v-neck shirt with a cropped cardigan and a plaid skirt that was seriously flirting with the school dress code, complete with those thigh high striped socks that everyone seemed to be wearing these days. I was beginning to worry about hanging out with her, not because I didn't like her, but because she could end up drawing a lot of unwanted attention to our circle. We'd had enough of that going on lately, between the marriage thing, the pregnancy rumors, and Freddie's new habit of getting into confrontations with any guy who looked at Sam wrong, and then the rumors that had started swirling that it'd only be a matter of time before BRAD AND I got married and I got pregnant. Ugh, ridiculous! I loved Brad, but I was only seventeen, and we weren't Sam and Freddie.

"So...where's Sam?" Melanie asked.

"Uh, well, she and Freddie tend to be late sometimes..." I trailed off. "One of them usually distracts the other and then they get sidetracked..."

Melanie raised her eyebrows. "So, they..."

"God, Melanie, they're like rabbits! All the time! I don't know how they do it..."

A mischievous grin crossed Melanie's face. "Well, usually what happens is, the man takes his..."

"I get that part, Melanie!" I cut her off, laughing and shoving at her shoulder. "Okay, so what's your first class?"

"Uh..." Melanie pulled her schedule out of her purse, peering at it. "Science...then I have gym...then English...lunch...art...Calculus...and History."

"Calculus?" My eyebrows went up. "Wow, that's...pretty advanced...Mel." Maybe her Queen Airhead crown was debatable.

Melanie shrugged. "I like numbers. They always make sense and the rules never change."

"Huh. Well that's...cool, I guess. Well, you've got Science with Brad," I said. "And gym with me and Sam...and...History...with...Freddie." I trailed off. Uh-oh. Sam isn't going to like this one bit.

"Well, at least I'll know some people in my classes!" Melanie said brightly.

"Yeah..." I trailed off as I saw Brad walking toward us. "I'll be back," I told Melanie before bounding over to Brad.

"Hi!" I greeted him with a kiss.

"Hey babe," he said once we'd separated. "How's it going?"

I shrugged. "Eh. Hey have you talked to Freddie today?"

Brad shook his head. "Nope. They're still not here?"

"No," I replied, jumping a little as I was started by the sound of the double doors banging open.

"Sam, Jesus, I'm just trying to help!" Freddie yelled as Sam stormed through the hallway.

"Well you're not, so stop!" she shouted over her shoulder at Freddie.

"Oh god, really? Already? It's not even nine AM!" Brad complained.

"Sam!" I called to her, waving her over. "What's wrong?"

"Freddie's pissing me off!" she said, sounding exasperated.

"Look, I'm just saying, you don't want to be a pedestrian all your life, Sam! Just let me teach you how to drive!"

"No!" Sam cried. "Did you forget driver's ed last year?"

Oh god, I sure hadn't. I rolled my eyes. All this arguing first thing in the morning about Sam learning to drive? I wanted to hit both of them.

"Oh, come on Sam, it wasn't that bad..." Freddie trailed off, stopping short when Sam cut him off.

"Not that bad? Are you kidding me? The instructor ran screaming from the car about the apocalypse! It was BAD! I am not driving, ever! Cars and I do not mix!" Sam responded.

"It wasn't your fault, Sam, he'd just gotten off his meds!" I said, trying to be helpful. "Maybe you should let Freddie teach you..." I waited for somebody to make an ubiquitous comment about a stick shift, but it didn't come. Guess it was too early for everyone to be on their game.

Sam shook her head, glaring at me and Freddie. "I'm not gonna do it! I'll just crash your car!" she said to Freddie.

"You won't crash my car, baby!" he said, taking her hand in his. "Just let me show you how to drive. You know my reward system is better than the driver's ed classes." He gave her a mischievous grin. Ugh...it was too early for innuendo.

"Okay, new topic!" I said brightly. "Melanie got her schedule!"

"Yeah, I did!" Melanie bounced over. She looked at Brad. "Carly said I have Science with you."

"You do?" Brad looked horrified, but before he could say anything else, I gave him a withering stare. Brad wasn't a very big fan of Melanie, he'd made that pretty obvious. I really hoped Melanie didn't do anything stupid to really piss him off, because if Sam and Brad were to ever team up against her, she'd be a dead woman, because Sam and Brad were really good at teaming up. I mean it took a pair of serious evil geniuses to be able to convince people to drink something that was on fire.

"Melanie," I said. "You may not bet on anything in Science class with Brad, is that clear? He's running out of money to take me on dates!"

"Running out?" Brad said. "I'm out! I had to borrow twenty bucks from my dad this morning to fill up the Mustang! He was pissed! I'm not making any more bets with her, EVER!"

"You sure?" Melanie asked. "We could go for something simple, like who can do the most push-ups..."

"Push-ups?" Brad asked. "Okay, well, maybe..." he frowned suddenly as his eyes fixed on Sam, who was waving her arms back and forth and shaking her head 'no'. "No way, forget it!"

Melanie shrugged, as if she didn't care. "Oh well...hey Sam, I have gym with you and Carly."

"Hooray," Sam said flatly, glaring at Freddie when he elbowed her. "Carly," she stated, grabbing me. "Let's go, English!" She started to drag me away. "Bye guys!"

"Bye, I'll see you guys later!" I called over my shoulder. "Jeez, Sam, slow down!"

~*Sam*~

"So how long do you think it's going to be before she gets expelled for banging some random guy under the bleachers?" I asked Carly as we walked into the locker room. God, what a long, annoying day this had been. Melanie had wasted no time in establishing her reputation as an unshakeable slut, and it was only her first day! It was embarrassing to have to admit she was my sister, but if I didn't I ran the risk of people thinking I was the one slutting it up, which just wouldn't do. Even if I wasn't hopelessly in love with Freddie, throwing myself at random guys like Melanie did just wasn't my style.

"Don't you think you're being a little over dramatic, Sam?" Carly asked. I shook my head, rolling my eyes as I opened my gym locker and pulled out my clothes. I pulled my shirt over my head and began inching my jeans down over my hips, before jerking around to look at Carly, startled by the loud gasp she'd just emitted.

"What?" I asked.

"Sam!" Carly stood up from her spot on the bench to walk over to me, spinning me around. "What happened?"

"What happened where?"

"Um, your butt!" she said. "It...you have a...what happened?" she finally said.

"Oh..." I trailed off. She was referring to the hand-print shaped red mark on my ass. I shrugged, smiling sheepishly, and her eyes got big.

"Did...Freddie do that to you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Uh...yeah," I responded. "Last night." I finished pulling my gym clothes on, sitting down to pull on my sneakers.

"But why?" she asked.

I looked up at her, trying to choose my words. "I don't know, Carly...I just...I...we...you know. Like it. Like that." Okay, my words hadn't been chosen well. But I wasn't about to go into some huge manifesto about the link between mine and Freddie's fucked up childhoods and our overwhelming desire to constantly control and manhandle each other.

She shook her head. "I don't understand at all. Why do you bite him and scratch him up and why does he do that to you?"

I shrugged. "That's just how we are, Carly. Sometimes we get a little rougher than others. But he'd never actually really hurt me. And I'd never hurt him for real...it just...makes things more intense, you know?"

"You still haven't told me about the whole jacuzzi thing," she pointed out. I grinned, biting my bottom lip.

"Oh my god, whenever he and I get our own place, it has to have one of those," I said with a sigh, fanning myself dramatically.

"What did he do?"

"Okay, well...I mean, first of all, doing it in water, AMAZING!" I said with a sigh. "And...you know the jets?"

"Uh-huh..." Carly trailed off, a perplexed expression on her face. "Aren't they supposed to be for like...loosening up muscles or something?"

"Yeah, you can use them for that," I commented. "But there's other places they work quite well on too."

She frowned. "Like where?" When I gave her a pointed look, her eyes got wide as saucers. "Oh. Ohhhh!" she responded. "No way! Really?" I nodded. "What does it feel like?"

"Uh..." I trailed off with a laugh. "Well...okay, I can't believe I'm saying this, but if you wanna know, that detachable shower head you have in your bathroom? Try using it. You know, down there?"

"I can't do that!"

"Oh, yeah, you can, Carly...trust me." I responded. "Maybe when things progress with you and Brad a little more, he could use it on you!"

"Oh my god, Sam!" she cried, blushing. "I could never..."

"You'd be surprised at what you could do when you get a little more comfortable with this whole thing, Carls," I said pointedly. "Very surprised."

"I just don't think I could...do that..."

"Okay, Carly, level with me for a second. What happened on the fire escape?"

"Well..." Carly blushed again. "He was grabbing my boobs, and rubbing me...you know...down there..."

"Over clothing, or did he touch skin?"

"Under the shirt over the bra. My jeans stayed zipped up," Carly replied, sounding a bit shy. I leaned forward, staring at her.

"Just imagine what it's gonna feel like when he does that to you without anything on," I said in a stern voice. "And imagine what it's gonna feel like when you're both naked and you're all pressed up against each other, and he's all sweaty..."

"Wow..." Carly trailed off. Her eyes seemed to cloud over a bit, and I knew she was imagining all the things I'd just told her to think about. Good, she needed food for thought. Before we could talk any further, I heard an annoying, familiar voice.

"Hey guys!"

I groaned. "Hi, Melanie."

"How's it going?" she asked, plopping down next to Carly and unzipping her duffel bag. I merely grunted, pretending to be fascinated by my shoelaces.

"Pretty good, how do you like Ridgeway so far?" Carly asked her.

"So awesome! Everyone's so nice, and the guys are HOT!" Melanie gushed. "I've gotten like ten numbers today! And cheerleading tryouts are Wednesday, I can't wait."

Ugh. I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. I couldn't believe she was serious about being a cheerleader, and she was going to embarrass the hell out of me if she kept throwing herself at guys like this. Still, I suppose her throwing herself at guys who weren't Freddie wasn't a bad thing.

I was brought out of my grumblings about Melanie when I saw Patrice walk into the locker room. Oh look, the only person I hated worse than my sister. My threat to beat her to death with her own arm hadn't deterred her from constantly hitting on Freddie. It was so, so hard not to snap her neck.

"Hey, Puckett!" she called sarcastically.

"It's Benson, bitch!" I growled.

"Not for long," Patrice responded. "I saw Freddie looking at me today, in the hallway. When you weren't there."

"Yeah, probably trying to figure out how many times you'd been dropped on your head as a baby." Grrr. I wanted to beat her senseless!

Patrice glared at me. "Whatever. You may as well file the divorce paperwork yourself and save him the trouble, because once the season starts and he sees me walking around in my sexy little cheerleader uniform, he'll forget all about you!"

I was about to stand up and make her eat the ugly-ass handbag she was wearing, but then something happened that surprised the hell out of me. My evil SISTER stood up for me.

"Did that hurt?" she asked, standing up and peering at Patrice closely.

"Oh my god, there's two of you? Ew!" Patrice said, wrinkling her nose. "And did what hurt?"

"Your implants," Melanie said matter-of-factly. "I mean, they look okay I suppose, but the gap between them...ewww! Never get a bargain basement boob job, hun!"

"What are you talking about?" Patrice sneered. "I don't have implants. So what, Puckett, you're cloning yourself now? Trying to overcrowd the world with white trash?"

"Bitch, I swear to god..." I yelled, leaping to my feet. "I will break your neck!"

"Try it, you'll get suspended, and that'll give me plenty of time to hit on your husband. He's so hot," she said. "Is he good in bed?"

I moved towards her, pulling my fist back, but Melanie stepped in front of me...and grabbed Patrice's boobs. Holy hell, what was going on? I wanted to beat the girl's ass and my sister was molesting her! She must have been really confused about what the definition of kicking someone's ass meant.

"OH MY GOD!" Patrice shrieked. "Get off me!"

"I just wanna feel your implants, hold still!" Melanie hollered. "Are they saline? Let me feel them!"

"Get away from me!" Patrice cried, a freaked out, violated expression on her face. She turned around and ran away, faster than she had the day I'd growled at her.

"Wait! Come back! Just let me touch them!" Melanie ran after her about six feet, before turning around and strolling back towards us, an amused expression on her face.

Carly and I stared at each other, dumbfounded.

"Well, that was..." Carly trailed off. "What the hell was that, Melanie?"

Melanie shrugged, pulling her compact out of her purse to touch up her makeup. "It got her to leave, didn't it? Honestly, Sam, it's much more effective to grab a girl's naughty bits than it is to punch her. You should have learned that by now."

What the hell? I was so caught off-guard I couldn't even think of something snappy to come back at her with! I just sat down, staring at her. God, was my mouth hanging open? I couldn't believe my sister had come up with a more effective tool to torture Patrice than me!

"Well?" Melanie asked. I was silent for a second.

"I still hate you. But nice burn," I replied.

"Thanks," she responded. "So...is she the Queen Bee of Ridgeway?"

"Something like that," Carly replied. "Why?"

Melanie shrugged. "Just wondering. I need a new project."

"New project?" I asked. Melanie just smiled at me and patted me on the head. Gah, my stupid sister had surprised me so much I wasn't even quick enough to smack her hand away, or bite her!

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, dear sister. Just let me have my fun." With that, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and was gone, walking out of the locker room towards the gym.

"What the hell was that?" I asked Carly. "Did you see that? She just...I just...WHAT THE HELL?"

Carly gasped in a sort of 'Oh, I get it now!' fashion. "She IS evil...but like...in a good way...just like you!" She grinned at me. "That was like watching the live-action version of Mean Girls!"

"Okay, she is nothing like me, Carly!" I snapped, irritated. I paused. "But, yeah...this could get really entertaining, really fast."

~*Freddie*~

"Hold on, let me get this straight," I said to Carly as I sat down on the school steps, my arm going around Sam. "You're telling me she grabbed Patrice's BOOBS? Are you being serious?"

Carly nodded fervently. "I'm totally serious! She didn't just grab them, she straight up felt her up!"

"It's true, I didn't even get a chance to hit her before Melanie just...HONK!" Sam added.

Oh god, I couldn't keep myself from doubling over with laughter. I thought Brad and Gibby would fall over from laughing so hard. I couldn't believe a girl would have the guts to do that to another girl, but we were talking about a Puckett, so there was no telling what Melanie could possibly do.

"I wish I could grab Patrice's boobs," Gibby commented. I rolled my eyes.

I was so glad it was lunchtime, I didn't normally hate school this much, but the entire thing just seemed tedious and superfluous now. It got in the way of me spending time with Sam, which I hated. We only had one class together, and lunch. It was incredibly frustrating.

"So, are you gonna let me teach you how to drive after school's over or not, baby?" I asked Sam.

"No!"

"Aw, is Sam afraid of the big bad scary car?" Gibby asked in a baby voice, leaning towards her.

THUMP!

"Ow!" Gibby hollered, clutching his forehead. "Don't throw fruit at me!"

"That was MY apple! I was gonna eat that, Sam!" I scolded. She shrugged. "Come on, one lesson, around the parking lot, and if you don't want to do it anymore, I won't press you." She still looked dubious. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Fine," I said. "One lesson, and then when we get home..." I leaned towards her, my mouth inches from her ear, partly because I didn't want anyone else to hear me, and partially because I knew that any time she could feel my breath on her neck it drove her crazy. "...I'll give you the best massage of your life, and then I'll go down on you until you beg me to stop..." She pulled away to look at me, and I could see the desire welling up in her eyes. I loved that look, it was like she wanted to eat me alive.

"Oh god, stop eye-fucking each other," Carly said, annoyed.

"Jealous much?" I shot back, glaring at her. It annoyed me how much of a prude Carly could be sometimes, especially considering I knew for a fact that while Sam and I were in Seabrook Carly had spent several hours on the fire escape letting Brad grope her boobs. I knew that, because Brad wouldn't shut up about it. Maybe once Carly actually got laid she'd stop whining about the way Sam and I were, because then she'd understand what the fuss was about. Then again, maybe not. I'd heard plenty of talk around the locker room at the gym that made me feel downright sorry for whatever girls were having sex with those juiceheads, because it was obvious none of them knew what they were doing. Apparently it was par for the course for teenage guys to only think about themselves in the sack, but I just couldn't go that route, not with Sam. I got more out of pleasuring her than I did with the whole 'wham bam thank you ma'am' sex that other guys apparently preferred. Sam and I didn't even like 'quickies', the real fun was in the long, drawn out pyschological mindfuck sessions that were the norm for us. Sam was gorgeous, had an amazing figure, and was sexy as hell, but her brain did more for me than her body ever could.

I tried to clear my head before I got too turned on and everyone could see what I was thinking about, forcing myself back into the moment.

"Okay, so, after you get done with your...'lesson'," Brad made air quotes. "Gym time?"

"Yep," I responded, reaching down to grab my sandwich, then frowning when all I felt was air. Where the hell was my sandwich? I looked to my right, annoyed. "Sam. Did you eat my sandwich?" Sam shook her head no, but her cheeks were all puffed out like a baby chipmunk storing nuts for the winter. That little liar.

"Aw come on, seriously, baby?"

"What?" she said, but it was muffled and came out more like "Mmmrphhh!" I rolled my eyes. Okay, fine. I'd deal with her when we got home. Just had to make sure that whatever I came up with deterred her from stealing my sandwiches instead of encouraging her to do it again. With Sam, you could never tell.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of Brad's phone beeping, signaling he'd received a text message.

"Who is that?" Carly asked as she peered over Brad's shoulder.

"My dad," he responded.

Ooh, lightbulb! I got up quickly, grabbing Brad by the arm.

"I gotta talk to you real quick!" I said, dragging him away.


	40. Chapter 40: Chains

**A/N: Hmm, not much to say without giving away everything, so just read. And yes, Sam and Freddie are still dirty perverts. Wouldn't have it any other way.  
><strong>

**Chapter Forty:  
><strong>**Chains**

~*Sam*~

"I've changed my mind, I don't wanna do this," I said flatly, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at Freddie. Freddie did the same, crossed his arms and stared me down. Oh no, we weren't going to get into a battle of wills over THIS.

"Sam, get in the driver's seat, right now," he said, opening the door. I shook my head.

"I'm not doing it."

"SAM! Quit being a pussy, dammit!" Freddie yelled. He was trying to hit me where it hurt, my pride, and I wasn't going to fall for it.

"NO!" I shouted, even more determined. Freddie sighed, taking a few steps toward me.

"Get your ass in that car, right now. Or I'm gonna have to make you."

"And how are you going to do that, sweetheart?" I asked, trying desperately not to let my head turn to follow him as he walked slow circles around me. "There's a parking lot full of people right now."

"And I have tinted windows and a very large backseat," he replied. "This could go a number of different ways."

"Humph." I responded simply, not budging.

"Let's see, I could...make you come over and over until you beg me to stop," he suggested, brushing past me and making sure to thrust his hips right into my butt. "Or I could tease you into begging me to let you come. Or I could just leave another hand-print on that beautiful ass of yours. It's your choice, baby." He continued to walk in circles around me. It was making me dizzy.

"And I could bite you so hard it could sever an artery," I declared, my eyebrows going up.

"Sam, get in the car! Now!"

"NO! I'm not gonna do it!"

"Why not? Give me one good reason why not?" Freddie asked, stopping directly in front of me.

"Because I'm just gonna screw it up!" I yelled, my hands going up in frustration. "What if I hit somebody?"

Freddie's face softened, and I could tell he was going to try another tactic to convince me. "Baby," he said, his hands rubbing up and down my arms. "You're not gonna hit anyone. And you're not gonna screw up. You just need relax, and trust me, okay? Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Uh, yeah, you have," I responded.

"When?" he cried, looking confused.

"Remember Saturday night? We had a few things out of the minibar, and then you got that crazy idea in your head about you know what? You told me to just relax and it would be fine, but it wasn't fine, it was the most unpleasant experience of my life, and we're never doing that again!" I shouted.

"What? Oh come on, Sam, that doesn't count! That was...experimentation! And just so we're clear I wasn't a big fan of that either!"

"Good, cuz it's never happening again!" I responded. Maybe if I brought that up I could get his mind off the whole driving thing.

"Agreed!" Freddie yelled. "Okay, do you wanna talk about...that...or are we gonna talk about the driving thing?"

"How about neither?" I replied.

"Sam," he said seriously. "You HAVE to learn how to drive! Before college! What if I can't take you to class? You gotta learn to drive, baby! Don't be a scaredy-cat!"

"I am not a scaredy-cat," I stated defensively. "Me not driving is providing a public service for the rest of the world!"

"Sam, you're gonna be seventeen in two weeks and you don't have a license! Everyone else, me, Carly, Brad...even Gibby...we have licenses. You have to do this!"

Oh, dammit, he pulled the Gibby card!

"Ugh, fine. Come on Mr. Miyagi, time to teach me a few things," I grunted, getting into the driver's seat.

~*Freddie*~

"Now, see? That wasn't so bad, was it baby?" I asked Sam as we stepped off the elevator.

"Well, no...but the one time I wanted to hit somebody, you wouldn't let me!" she grumbled.

"You cannot run over Patrice," I replied with a roll of my eyes, taking her hand in mine as we walked down the hallway. I unlocked the front door and she leaned against the wall, waiting.

"Where's Carly at?" she asked. "She hasn't answered my texts."

I shrugged. "I dunno."

"Maybe she's testing out the shower head theory," Sam mused.

I looked at her as I opened the door. "Shower head theory?" I paused. "You know what? Never mind. Probably best if I don't know."

"Probably," Sam replied, walking in and tossing her backpack on the couch. "Okay, ready for my massage!" she shouted, running towards the bedroom and doing a flying leap onto the bed.

"Okay, I'll be right there," I responded. Man, she was making this too easy. I was going to keep my word about the massage, but then I was going to teach her a lesson about constantly eating my food! I opened my backpack to take out what Brad had loaned me, shoving it into my pocket before walking into the bedroom.

"Okay, clothes off," I said, before looking up and realizing Sam had already beaten me to the punch. "Hmm, looks like somebody got a jump start," I commented, walking over to the bed and kissing her, my hands running up and down the soft skin of her back. Man she had nice skin. "Alright, baby. Lay down. On your stomach," I said, sitting down on the bed. I started with her neck and shoulders, trying to get her to loosen up. I had to take my time so she'd zone out, otherwise she'd figure out what I was up to.

"Oh my god," she moaned facedown into the pillows. "That feels so good. I love love love your hands."

"Well I hope so," I mused, going lower down her back.

I must have spent nearly forty five minutes trying to work out all her muscles, getting her nice and relaxed. Every now and then I'd ask her a question and see how long it took her to respond, just to see if she was still with me or if she was so relaxed that she was completely gone. When she started responding to everything I was saying with a simple "huh?" or "what?", I knew it was time for the second part, the good part. I was really going to enjoy this, and she was going to love it and hate it all at the same time, and then maybe she'd stop stealing my damn food at lunch!

"Turn over, baby," I whispered in her ear. She did, a little bit slower than usual. Man, she was really zoned out! This was going to be too easy.

I pulled my shirt off over my head before coming down over her, kissing her softly at first, then deepening and intensifying the kiss. She moaned against my mouth, her arms going around my neck. I let them stay there for a minute as I reached down to fish out what Brad had let me borrow out of my pocket. She didn't even notice, and I laid it down on the pillow a little ways from her head, before taking her arms and pulling them over her head. I kept kissing her, moving away from her mouth to kiss on her neck then her collarbone. That part was crucial. She had trouble focusing on anything whenever I did that. And then...

Click.

Sam's eyes popped open as she tried to move her arms away, but upon finding she couldn't, she glared at me.

"What the hell, nub?"

I sat up for a second, a smile slowly spreading across my face. "I told you to quit stealing my food, didn't I?"

"So you handcuffed me?" she yelled, jerking on her arms a little bit, but no avail. I'd wrapped the cuffs around one of the many wooden dowels that were spread vertically across the headboard, there was no way in hell she could get loose.

"Well, nothing else worked," I responded. "So I figured, while you're like that, you may as well listen to me." I stood up suddenly. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."

"FREDDIE! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" she screamed at me as I walked into the living room, fishing her cell phone out of her bag. I walked back in, showing her the phone.

"Just so we won't be disturbed," I said, turning the phone off, then turning my phone off. "And mom's working night shift."

"You are so DEAD, Benson!" she yelled, jerking on the cuffs again. "Let me go! Now!"

"Nope," I responded, getting back on the bed. "You don't listen. And we have to fix that."

"What are you gonna do?" she asked nervously, looking up at me. I kissed her on her forehead.

"I'm not gonna hurt you baby. But there's nothing you can do to get out of this, even begging isn't gonna work this time. So you may as well enjoy it."

"You are so dead," she threatened me, jerking away when I tried to kiss her. I shrugged.

"Maybe, but it'll be worth it." I responded, before kissing her neck, then dropping lower to lick at her collarbone.

"Let me go," she said, but she didn't sound as pissed off as before.

"You sure about that?" I asked, one hand reaching to rub at her breast. She sighed, arching into me. "Doesn't feel like you want me to let you go," I stated, before reaching a hand down between her legs. She was already pretty turned on. "In fact, it feels like the opposite."

"Freddie...this isn't fair..." she whined. "Let me go...please..."

I shook my head. "Nope. You're in for a long night."

~*Carly*~

I was walking down the hallway with Brad after we'd gotten back from the lake. I had barely any privacy in my own home now, and Brad didn't have any, so after school we'd hopped in his car, drove to the lake, and then...got better reacquainted in the backseat. We were still hovering somewhere over second base, because I wasn't comfortable going further than that, but today I did get to feel his...parts. It was...nice, and felt...big. Of course, I had no experience with these sort of things, so for all I knew he could have been just average.

I was starting to think about these kind of things. Like how he looked naked. What he would feel like. What our first time would be like. Whoa. Was I ready for that, and was he really "the one" to lose my virginity to? I couldn't be sure.

As we rounded the corner, I was greeted by the sight of Melanie, Gibby, and oddly enough Tasha with their ears pressed up against Sam and Freddie's apartment door.

"What the hell?" I asked. "What are you guys doing?"

"Well, I got a ride from Gibby and Tasha, and we were waiting for you!" Melanie said with a smile.

"And you decided to eavesdrop while you waited?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, why not?" Melanie responded with a roll of her eyes, pressing her ear to the door again.

"Stop that!" I yelled. "That's invasion of privacy!"

They ignored me, the jerks.

"Dude, it sounds like he's killing her," Gibby commented.

"Yeah, but it sounds like she's enjoying it," Tasha replied softly. "Like...really enjoying it."

"What? Move!" I shouted, pressing my ear against the door in spite of the nagging voice telling me not to. My eyes widened. Oh my god! It did sound like he was killing her! All I could hear was screaming, moaning, and curse words!

"Oh my god!" I said, moving away from the door and looking at it with a horrified expression on my face. "You know, maybe they're going too far this time? You know they get pretty rough on each other! Should we like...bang the door down or something?"

"Nah, they're fine," Brad commented. Four heads slowly turned to look at him, and one of those heads was mine. Brad looked like he wanted to disappear.

"You know something," I said accusingly. "What do you know?"

"Nothing! I know nothing!" Brad responded, looking at the floor.

"Brad," I said firmly, taking a step towards him. "Tell me what you know, or what happened at the lake today will never happen again!"

"Oooh, what happened at the lake today?"

"Shut up Melanie!" My hand went up, and I continued to glare at Brad. "What's going on?"

"Aargh! Fine! It's nothing okay, I just...loaned Freddie my dad's extra set of handcuffs. It's not a big deal!" Brad responded, rolling his eyes at the expression on my face.

"Oh my god! You are sick! They are sick! That's it, they need to be in counseling, they have problems. This is like...marital...dysfunction...this is sexual dysfunction!" I yelled. "I mean, they are going to end up permanently damaging each other one of these days!"

"Yeah, and then they'll beg each other to do it again!" Brad responded, annoyed. "Who cares? It's what they like! Don't try to make them feel bad about it, you know they're not normal anyway. They're weird. They're both really weird. They seem perfectly normal, but you put them in a room together, and they just bring out each other weirdness! They're weird little pervs, so just...let them go be weird and pervy together!"

"This is going beyond weird, they are freaks! Like...unadulterated, complete and total freaks! I am not comfortable with Freddie handcuffing my best friend and doing god knows what to her!"

"Carly!" Brad gruffed. "Did it ever occur to you that Sam likes Freddie handcuffing her and doing god knows what to her? Because she does! If she didn't he wouldn't do it! He loves her, he doesn't wanna hurt her, he just likes pushing her boundaries! And she likes pushing his boundaries!"

"How do you know that, number one, and why? Why would they like doing that each other?" I didn't get it all, this was just too much!

"I know that because he told me that, and who knows why? Like I said, they're weird! Why are you so worried about it? It's not really your business, and please don't tell me you're that much of a prude!"

"I am not a prude, Brad!" I snapped. "I don't want them to permanently hurt each other or cross a really big boundary and then split up over it! It's just bad!"

"Oh my gosh!" Gibby hissed, his ear still pressed against the door.

"What was that noise?" Tasha asked, looking worried. "Did you hear that cracking sound?"

"Shhh!" Gibby shushed her. "I can't hear them!"

Brad, Melanie and I all glared at each other before rushing over the the door and fighting over a spot to press our ears against. God, we were just as much pervs as Freddie and Sam!

"Holy shit!" Gibby laughed quietly. "I think Sam broke their bed!"

~*Brad*~

God, this was awkward. This was beyond awkward.

I was sitting at the Groovie Smoothie with Carly, Freddie, and Sam. Carly was just staring at Freddie and Sam, her arms crossed over her chest, just looking at them. Like they were zoo animals or something. Freddie and Sam, on the other hand, were being completely normal, Freddie messing with something on his phone, Sam resting her head on his shoulder and looking at whatever he was doing. A smirk went across his face all of a sudden, and he reached down to his food, shoving the basket of fries towards Sam.

"Want some of my food?" he asked. Sam sat up quickly, leaning back in her seat like she didn't want to be anywhere near it.

"Uh...no thanks. I'll...go get my own." She stood up suddenly, leaning down to wrap her arms around Freddie's neck. "Can I have some money, baby?"

"Uh-huh," Freddie responded, handing her a five he'd pulled out of his pocket. She kissed him and went on her merry way to order her food.

"So, Freddie," Carly said awkwardly. "Rehearsing tonight?"

Freddie shrugged. "We can't. Sam and I have something to do."

"Really? What?"

"Uh, we gotta go look for a new bed. It's really worn out."

I nearly yelped aloud as Carly elbowed me in the ribs, looking at me pointedly. I watched her look at Sam, still standing in line, then back at Freddie, before pushing her chair back and standing up. I grabbed her wrist suddenly, shaking my head 'no', but she just glared at me before walking over to Sam. I watched her pull Sam out of the line and begin talking to her. Oh, god. This was going to be really bad. Carly spoke for about two minutes before grabbing Sam's wrists and looking at them pointedly. They did look a bit bruised today, but...come on, the girl had used them to pull on a pair of cuffs until they'd snapped off part of a headboard. She's lucky she didn't manage to cut them open! Sam jerked her arms away, before turning to look at us, and then storming towards the table. Oh god. Def-Con Five, Def-Con Five! Before I could even warn him Sam hauled back and smacked Freddie across the back of the head. He stood up, turning around at glaring at her.

"The fuck, Sam? What the hell was that for?"

"You told Carly?" she screamed. "You tell me not to talk about our sex life and you told CARLY about that?"

"I didn't tell Carly shit!" Freddie yelled back, before glaring at me. "You told Carly!"

"Nobody told me anything! We could hear you guys out in the hallway! You guys are sick!" Carly yelled. "This is not normal, you guys have to stop doing that!"

Sam was fuming. "Carly! Freddie and I are MARRIED! We can do what we want! He is not hurting me and I am not hurting him! What we do inside of our own apartment and our own bedroom is none of your damn business!"

"Sam, it's weird!" Carly whined. "I'm just -"

"No, shut up, Carly! It's none of your fucking business, do you hear me! None! What are you, the fucking sex police? Why don't you just back off?" Sam screamed at her, before turning around and storming out of the Groovie Smoothie.

I looked at Freddie, my hands going up. "Dude, I'm sorry...I tried to..."

Freddie waved me off. "It's cool, bro. I'll text you."

"Freddie..." Carly said weakly, but Freddie stopped her.

"Just forget it, okay? I don't have time for this shit, I'm gonna have to spend the rest of the night convincing my wife she's not a sick freak. Thank you very much, Carly. In the meantime, go buy yourself a psychology book, turn to the human sexuality section, and read a little bit. Then maybe you'll shut the fuck up," he growled, before turning around and walking out.

Carly looked at me, a pained expression on her face. "What did I do? I was trying to help!"

"Didn't I tell you NOT to get involved, Carly? You can't judge other people's sex lives! What works for them isn't gonna work for someone else! And now look!"

"Well what can I do to fix it?" she asked.

I groaned, rolling my eyes. "There is nothing you can do, Carly! Why won't you get that? You just need to stay out of their business!"

"But she's my best friend! I mean, she never used to keep secrets, or not tell me stuff, but..."

"Carly, she's married," I said gently. "It happens, okay? You can't expect to know everything about her life now, it's not just her life anymore. It's her and Freddie's life."

"Well what am I supposed to do? Be the third wheel?" she asked.

Okay, that was it, I'd had it.

"Third wheel? You're sitting right next to a guy who is in love with you, wants to be with you, and you're calling yourself the third wheel? What about me, Carly? How about you focus on our relationship instead of their relationship? Do you even want this?"

"Yes!" Carly cried. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that, Brad! I...I am losing both of my best friends, and I'm losing them to each other...and they...I'm finding out things about them I didn't know before, and it's driving me crazy!"

"Well you're just gonna have to let it go!" I responded, shaking her shoulders. "Carly! You gotta focus on your own life, babe!"

She sighed. "Get up."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it," she replied, standing up. "Let's go."

I was confused. "Where are we going?"

"To go make out. You want me to focus on my own life, I'm focusing on my own life. Now let's go!" she grabbed my arm and jerked me towards the door before I even had a chance to protest.


	41. Chapter 41: I'll Get You

**A/N: Well this was a fun little chapter! Some very intense lemony action going on here, when Sam decides to teach Freddie a lesson about trying to play mind games on her in public. Side note: while writing this, found a song on my playlist I had forgotten about that I think pretty much sums up Freddie and Sam's relationship in the story. It's Revelation 22:20 by Puscifer, and how perfect is it? One of the lyrics is "Steady there Freddie, I'm ready to blow." No, I am NOT kidding, the lyric's in there, download it, and use it while you're reading my stuff! Lol.**

**Chapter Forty One:  
>I'll Get You<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"Baby, can you come here for a second?" Sam called from the bathroom.

"Be right there!" I said, chugging the rest of my coffee and walking into the bathroom to see Sam applying her makeup. "What's up?" I asked, leaning against the bathroom counter.

She tilted her head to the side, pulling her hair over her shoulder to expose her neck. "Bite me."

A perplexed expression flickered across my face. "What? Why?"

She sighed, obviously frustrated. "Just do it, okay? And make sure you leave a mark."

I rolled my eyes. "So Carly can see it?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Sam," I said, walking behind her and kissing the exposed part of her neck. "I'm not gonna do that."

"Why not? You like it when I leave marks on you, maybe I want you to leave a mark on me."

"No you don't," I responded, shaking my head. "You hate that."

"No, I hate Carly for being nosy and thinking she has any right to judge what we do!" she snapped. I rubbed her shoulders, trying to loosen her up.

"You cried for over an hour because you thought your best friend thinks you're a sick freak, and now you want me to leave a mark on you...so she can think you're a sick freak? You're not making sense, baby. Do you want some coffee?"

"I don't need caffeine, nub," she responded, annoyed. "I'm gonna rub this in her face until she backs off."

"I'm not gonna do something you don't like just so you can piss off your best friend," I responded gently.

She turned around, giving me THAT look, the one she always gave me when she was trying to get me to seduce her. "What if I begged you? I know you like it when I beg..." she trailed off, beginning to unbutton my shirt, and I caught her hands with mine, pulling them down.

"Don't do that," I said flatly. "Quit trying to use me as a pawn in your fight with Carly. I'll be in the kitchen. Hurry up, okay? We only have half an hour until first bell." I walked out of the bathroom, going into the kitchen to get more coffee.

This was going to be a very long day, and yesterday had been a very long night. Sam was so upset about the way Carly had called her out in front of everyone, no words could describe it. She was hurt, embarrassed, angry, her pride had been hurt, she felt judged. Personally, I was furious, but lashing out at Carly wasn't going to make a bit of difference, because she just wasn't going to get it, no matter how much I yelled at her about it. I just wanted to move on and forget the drama, I wasn't going to let Carly's inherent nosiness ruin years and years of friendship AND a popular webshow that was my ticket to getting into the film program at UW-Seattle. Not to mention, if Carly and Sam's relationship went south, it would probably affect my friendship with Brad, and I hadn't had a close male friend in years. He was quickly becoming my best friend. The four of us had a really good thing going, and I wasn't about to let one little spat about what was appropriate bedroom behavior come in between that. I picked up my phone to text Brad.

'Dude, we gotta fix this shit. I'm not gonna let the show take a hit because of this.'

The phone beeped a minute later, and I picked it up to read.

Brad: Fuck that bro! I got you! Squashing this shit TODAY!

I laughed to myself, then rolled my eyes as I heard a loud banging noise.

"Sam! I told you to stop hitting shit!" I yelled.

~*Carly*~

I stomped down the stairs in a horrible mood, plopping down at the counter, my chin going into my hands. This was not going to be a good day, I could tell already. Sam was SO mad at me.

Spencer was already awake and banging around the kitchen. "Hey kiddo, why so glum?"

"Sam's mad at me," I replied.

"Why? What happened?"

"I...I don't know, Spencer. I'm an idiot," I moaned, resting my forehead on the table. "Monday I was walking into the apartment and I heard them...doing their thing, through their door. And it sounded like they were getting really rough, so yesterday I said something about it."

"Well, what'd you say about it?"

"Um, that it was weird?" I responded weakly.

"Carly!" Spencer scolded me. "You don't have any right to tell her that! Just because they do things differently doesn't make them weird, it just makes them different. And we knew that already." He paused. "You're gonna have to apologize to her. And Freddie."

"I know that! But it really does bother me! What if they really do end up seriously hurting each other one day?"

"Then that will be their problem, and not yours!" Spencer responded. "It's not your business! That's a really personal issue, between the two of them."

"Yeah, I know," I moaned in sorrow. "I screwed up so bad, Spencer! Sam hates me!"

"I'm ready for tryouts!" Melanie yelled as she bounded down the stairs. Spencer rolled his eyes.

"No," he said, looking at me. "Sam hates her."

I looked behind me to see Melanie practicing cheerleading poses, and rolled my eyes.

"I'm starting to see why," I commented.

~*Sam*~

"Do it."

"No."

"Do it!" Freddie yelled at me.

"Fuck you!"

"Sam!" Freddie scolded me, exasperated. "Go over and talk to her, right now!"

"I don't wanna," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You're acting like a child!"

I turned around, looking up at him. "So you're saying I'm being a bad girl?"

"Don't do that right now," Freddie warned. "Quit trying to stir me up, it's not gonna get you out of this, it's just gonna build up until I get done with the gym, and you know what can happen then. You really wanna keep me worked up for ten hours?"

Ooh, really? Hmmm. That sounded fun. I stood on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "In that case, I am a bad, bad girl. And you should punish me when you get back from the gym today."

He gave me The Look. There was a big difference between a Look and The Look. He gave me a Look when I'd do something ridiculous or out of line, but The Look made me want to melt, it made me throb, it made me wet. The way his eyes got...like they were darker than usual, filled with lust and desire. Really, really dark desire, like he wanted to do things to me I hadn't even thought of yet. I LOVED The Look. Apparently I had struck some sort of nerve when I'd used the word "punish". I'd have to remember that.

I tried to back away, but Freddie's arm went around me, pulling me against him so he could say all kinds of dirty things in my ear. We didn't really care if we were on the front steps of the school or not. Freddie pushed my hair aside so I could feel his breath on my neck and ear. God, it made my knees weak when he did that.

"You just wait," he murmured. "I'm gonna do so many bad, dirty things to you. And I'm not even gonna need the cuffs this time, because when I tell your sexy little ass not to move, you're not gonna move."

"Or what?" I asked, my breathing becoming ragged.

His hand came down on my ass, smacking it before squeezing it, hard. God, right in front of everyone? He was getting bold. And it was making me even more turned on. I whimpered a little bit in spite of myself, and he heard it. Uh-oh. I was in trouble now.

"Hmmm," he commented. "I think you liked that a little bit too much. It doesn't bother you that everyone can see us right now? Or," he said, biting at my ear a bit, "Do you like it MORE, because everyone can see us right now?" His hand was still on my ass, and I couldn't even answer him. Oh god, he just licked my neck. This was just downright unfair!

"I think I know exactly how to deal with you. Later," he said, letting go of me and taking my hand in his. "But for now, we're gonna go talk to Carly." Just like that, it was over, and he had switched from Bad Boy Freddie who had way too much control over me to my Sweet Freddie who was the most wonderful loving husband on earth. It was amazing how easily he managed to switch from one to the other, even though they were completely different sides of him. He began dragging me up the stairs.

"I don't want to, Freddie," I whined. "She's just gonna say something else."

"No, she won't baby. I talked to Brad this morning, he and I are gonna handle it."

"Ooh, look at the big bad men taking charge," I teased, poking at his ribs. He smirked, rolling his eyes a bit.

"Come on, let's get this over with," he said, opening the door for me and giving me a gentle push inside. I sighed, not wanting to deal with it, and he simply grabbed my hand again and began pulling me towards our lockers, where Carly and Brad were standing. Carly and I stared for a moment, neither one of us wanting to speak first. Brad looked at Carly before giving her a nudge and looking at her pointedly. She sighed, looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry for telling you what do with your own sex life, Sam. What you and Freddie do behind closed doors is none of my business," she said.

"Yeah, no kidding," I replied. I felt Freddie poke me in the back and I rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you and started screaming at you in the middle of the Groovie Smoothie."

Carly nodded. "Okay."

"Now hug each other," Freddie said.

"And kiss and make up," Brad added.

"For ten seconds."

"With tongue."

"God, shut up!" Carly and I yelled at our respective men.

"There, see? All better!" Brad said. "Now you're yelling at us instead of each other!"

"And our work is done!" Freddie yelled. "Good work, sir." He mock bowed to Brad.

"And to you, good sir," Brad responded, bowing back.

I rolled my eyes, looking at Carly. "Ugh, boys. So we're cool now?"

"Yeah, we're cool. English?" Carly replied.

"Yep." I pulled my textbook out of my backpack before shoving it into Freddie's chest. "Put this in my locker, would ya?" I said before linking arms with Carly and walking away.

Carly and I were just about to walk in the classroom when I heard that annoying voice I hated yelling mine and Carly's names. I turned around, and my jaw dropped.

"Melanie..." I trailed off. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"What? I wanted to wear the school colors!" she stated. "It's tryout day!"

"And you didn't have any other shirt in blue that wasn't a crop top? And what's with that skirt? I mean...I hope you're wearing underwear, cuz if not..." I trailed off. She shrugged.

"I just wanted to look cute! Look, are you guys gonna come watch me try out?"

"Why would I do that?" I responded flatly.

"Sam!" Carly nudged me a bit, and I rolled my eyes. I was in far too forgiving a mood today.

"Fine! I'll come watch your stupid cheerleading audition if it'll shut you up!" I said to Melanie.

"Yay!" Melanie jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "But it's called a tryout, not an audition."

I growled audibly. "Don't push me!" I said, pointing at her.

"Fine, sorry."

"You know Patrice is captain, right?" Carly asked. "I don't know if she's gonna let you join, Melanie."

Melanie just waved her off. "I'm not too worried about it, Carly. Let me ask, how are the other cheerleaders' tumbling skills?"

"Uhm...tumbling skills?" Carly responded. "A few of them can do a pretty mean cartwheel..."

"Then I got this in the bag. I was ranked number five in my division last year for gymnastics," Melanie responded.

"What, like...in your school?" Carly asked.

I groaned. "No, Carly. She's number five in the country." Ugh, why did my stupid sister have to be so good at everything?

"Oh. Oh!" Carly said, finally getting it. "Wow, okay. Yeah, you've got this then. We'll be there. Right, Sam?" she nudged me again.

"Ugh, fine. We'll be there. Bye," I responded coldly before walking into the classroom.

"She's really trying hard, Sam," Carly commented.

"Yeah, trying hard to annoy me. But if she can knock Patrice off her throne, I'll be happy to watch," I replied before taking my seat. Melanie could be cold, calculating, gossipy, and power-hungry. Couple that with her flirtiness, and cheerleading "skills" she was on her way to the school's A-List. Fine by me, it would make her leave me and my friends alone, and she'd already managed to make an enemy out of the girl I hated most, so it could be quite fun to watch. But now that I had squashed my issues with Carly, I had more important things to think about than Melanie's rise to the top of high school royalty.

Freddie said he knew just how to deal with me, but later. What the hell did he mean by that, and when was later?

~*Freddie*~

I was so glad in was library day in Science class. We were supposed to spend the entire period doing research on our respective projects, and Mr. Henning had this thing about the internet, something about it being the tool of the "shadow government" or something like that, so the entire class had been reduced to using textbooks, encyclopedias, and other variations of the printed written word. Of course, this was not why I was excited. I'd stumbled across a very interesting tidbit about Sam on the front steps that I planned on investigating more thoroughly in the library, just to see how she'd react. Anything she liked was good, anything she loved was better, but anything she loved and hated at the same time was even better. That was the stuff that really allowed me to mess with her head, which, let's be honest, I enjoyed doing. The more I messed with it, the more I knew how it worked, which made communicating with her and helping her with any issue that might arise a lot easier.

"Let's go sit over here," I said as we walked in, pulling her to a table in a corner that was far away from everyone else. She shrugged.

"Okay," she responded. She put her bag on the table and sat down, facing away from the other students towards the book stacks. Perfect. I sat down next to her, pretending to peruse over the project notes. "So what are we doing again?"

"Uh, just a pretty standard paper on Quantum Physics," I replied. She gave me a Look.

"Okay, I don't even know what you just said, but I do know that 'standard' and 'Quantum Physics' don't really go together, Fredward," she replied. "Just tell me what I gotta do, okay?"

I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was looking at us, before leaning to whisper huskily in her ear. "Don't move, just sit there." Her eyes shifted over to me as the realization of what I was doing dawned on her.

"Not here," she whispered. "We could get..."

"Caught?" I responded. "That's what makes it fun, isn't it?"

"Freddie, stop," she warned, but her breathing had already gotten ragged, so I knew she was starting to get worked up. I ignored what she had said, my hand going under the table to run up and down her leg. She snapped her legs shut; she knew was I was up to, but I simply grabbed her knee and jerked it to the side, not hard enough to hurt, but definitely hard enough to let her know I wasn't playing around. I picked her leg up and laid it over mine. She was wearing those plaid knee length shorts today, the material was much thinner than denim, which meant she'd be able to feel everything I was doing a little bit easier. I went back to rubbing my hand up and down her leg, pretending to concentrate on my notes.

Sam's breathing was getting heavier; I wasn't sure if it was because I was turning her on, or because she was trying to do breathing exercises to take her mind off what I was doing. I started zeroing in on her inner thigh, tracing light circles over it with my fingertips, smirking as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Stop," she whispered. Ooh, begging already. This was going to be fun. I just shook my head at her, moving my hand closer and closer to my intended target. She held her breath, waiting for me to reach my mark, but I suddenly pulled back and went back to rubbing her thigh.

"I am gonna kill you," she growled at me. I smirked.

"Yeah right," I whispered in her ear before flicking at the lobe with my tongue. "You love this."

She didn't respond, because she knew I was right. I just hoped she'd be able to control herself from being too loud, which could be pretty difficult for her sometimes. I squeezed her thigh suddenly, making her jump, and she glared at me. I simply shrugged, moving my hand up and down her thigh again. When she'd dropped her guard back down, I suddenly skipped over from her thigh to her crotch, rubbing at her roughly through the fabric of her pants. She gasped before clapping a hand over her mouth, stifling a moan just in time. I pulled my hand away, back to rubbing her thigh.

I was going to drive her insane, in the middle of the library, in front of everyone, and they wouldn't even have a clue. Did I know how to make school fun or what? She was really having trouble controlling her breathing now, and every time I'd move up her thigh closer to her sweet sex, she thrust her hips forward. Guess she'd given up on trying to stop me. She was starting to lose herself now. Good. I ran my hand back up to her thigh and began rubbing her again. I was done with teasing now. I watched her bite her bottom lip, trying to control herself. Too bad I wasn't gonna let that happen.

"Does that feel good?" I whispered in her ear. "You like this, don't you?"

She shook her head slightly, but she didn't speak. I rubbed more purposefully, right where I knew her most sensitive spot was, pressing down a little bit more. She ground her hips against me in spite of her best efforts not to, and tried to pull her leg off mine. My other hand went under the table, holding her knee so she couldn't move away. She put her hand over her mouth again, trying to cover the sounds she was making against her will.

"Getting close?" I whispered. "You don't usually go this fast...does this turn you on? Me making you come in the middle of the library?"

"God, Freddie..." she whispered before having to cover her mouth again.

"You do like this," I said, flicking my tongue at the spot just behind her ear. "You love it." She shook her head fervently, her hand still over her mouth. I pressed down with my hand quickly, and heard her groan softly "You do love it. Now come for me."

She was getting close, I could feel it. Her thigh was trembling like it always did before she went over the edge, and her hips were grinding against me. One hand was still over her mouth, the other hand had picked up a pencil and she was twirling it between her fingers, trying desperately to get her mind off what I was making her feel. A few more seconds of rubbing and dirty talk and I'd have her over the edge.

I rubbed a little faster, a little bit harder. "Come for me," I said into her ear, in a low, husky voice instead of a whisper, before letting my teeth close over her earlobe.

SNAP! I looked down, and noticed that she'd broken the pencil she was twirling between in her fingers in half. As it clattered to the table, I watched her hand open and close into a fist repeatedly, before gripping at the desk so hard her knuckles turned white. Her other hand was still over her mouth, and all of a sudden she jerked against me, shaking, as her eyes rolled back into her head. In spite of her hand muffling the sound, she let out a moan that was loud enough I had to fake a very loud cough to cover up the sound. I finally pulled my hand away, rubbing her thigh softly before letting her leg come back down and kissing her on the forehead. She put her head down on the table, face first, trying to calm herself down.

"How was that?" I whispered in her ear. She picked her head up suddenly, glaring at me. She looked pissed.

"I hate you," she said, pushing her chair back and walking towards the book stacks.

Oh, shit. I'd push her too far. I quickly pushed my chair back to go track her down. I rounded a corner only to have my shirt collar grabbed and my back slammed into a stack of periodicals. I was completely unprepared for Sam's lips on mine, kissing me roughly.

"Baby, wha-" I started, but she cut me off by grabbing me through my jeans and biting my neck at the same time. Ah, fuck! Every time she did that my brain completely shut down. It was my biggest weakness, her doing those two things at the same time.

"You just fell for the oldest trick in the book," she whispered in my ear before biting my neck again. "And now I'm gonna get even with you for that stunt you just pulled."

"Baby, don't..." I said as I felt her hand go for my zipper.

"Shut up," she said, pulling my shirt aside to bite at my shoulder, hard, too hard.

"Ah!" I said. "Easy!" She put her hand on my chest, slamming me into the shelf again.

"Then shut up," she growled. "Payback's a bitch!"

Oh god, I HAD pushed her too far, but not in the way I'd thought. There was Angry Sam and then there was Angry Sex Beast Sam, and that's who I was dealing with now. I was screwed.

She went back to the task of unzipping my jeans, finding her way into my boxers, all the while licking, sucking, nibbling, and biting on my neck. I groaned, trying to be quiet. I was beyond stopping her now, even if I could, this just felt too good, and the idea of getting busted was so incredibly hot. She grabbed my hair with one hand so she could pull my head back and lick over my Adam's Apple while she pumped me up and down slowly. I couldn't stop my hips from thrusting against her hand.

"Feel good, baby?" she taunted against my neck. "You like this?"

I didn't respond, and I felt my cheek sting suddenly where she'd slapped me. Not enough to really hurt me, she'd done it so softly it hadn't even make a noise, just a light slap to let me know she was in charge, a move that she pulled what things between us got a little bit TOO intense. It wasn't something she did very often, it'd happened maybe two or three times, but when she did it, I knew she wasn't playing around. "Answer me, Freddie," she said, gripping me a little harder.

"Fuck, yes..." I said.

"Yes, what?" she responded, biting my ear. She better not draw blood while we were back here!

"Yes, I like it," I responded, hissing as she picked up the pace on the hand that was currently wrapped around my dick. Damn it, how had she managed to turn the tables so quickly?

"You like the idea of me making you come in the middle of the library? Where anyone can catch us?" Oh god, I had REALLY pissed her off. I felt her nails dig into the back of my neck as she continued to bite me and pump me up and down. My hips had a mind of their own at this point, I was done for. She squeezed hard suddenly, making me jump. "Answer me!" she hissed in my ear. "I asked you if you like me making you come in the middle of the library."

"Fuck, Sam..." I groaned. "You know I like it...I..." I trailed off, because I was having difficulty controlling myself. I was starting to shake a little bit. God, I hoped I could stay quiet. This could get us expelled. I felt her smile against my neck; she knew how close I was.

"You gonna come for me, baby?" she purred in my ear. "Hmm?"

"Ugh, fuck...baby..." I groaned. I was immensely relieved when her hand covered my mouth.

"You can't control yourself, can you?" she said, clucking her tongue. "Poor baby. Now come for me."

God, I was so close...this was going to be really, really intense. She picked up the pace on her hand, and my resolve was about to crumble.

Ah...fuck.

I moaned against her mouth as I finally gave up, and she jerked her hand away before pressing her mouth against mine, kissing me passionately as I exploded. God, that was hot. I loved when she kissed me right when I was climaxing, it was so good, so intense, ridiculously intimate...God. That was so, so hot. I leaned my head back, trying to desperately catch my breath.

Sam bent down and wiped her hand on the carpet. Lovely. But I didn't care right now.

"Did you like that, baby?" she asked, kissing me on my neck and wrapping her arms around me. I nodded, still catching my breath.

"Guess you won that round, baby," I said finally. I heard her snort.

"Pssh, I just stomped your ass."

"Day's not over yet," I responded. "We still got all night."

"Yeah, we do...so I guess I'm gonna be stomping your ass all night," she said playfully, biting at my nipple through my shirt and making me jerk.

"Ah! We'll see, I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you, I still gotta go to the gym and get all pumped up." We both knew how I could get after a workout. I kissed her softly, my hands tangling through her hair. God, I loved this girl. Nobody could make me feel so many different things at one time.

"We should probably go back to our seats, before people get suspicious," Sam pointed out. I nodded.

"Good point, let's go," I replied.

Okay, I'd definitely learned my lesson about not getting Sam too riled up in public, because she'd turned the tables on me hardcore, and had me at her mercy, instead of the other way around. She wasn't supposed to be able to get me all riled up by talking dirty and making me orgasm on command, that was something I did to her! I added today's experience to my list of mental notes as I watched her sit down, her fingers toying with her cascade of blonde hair, as I tried to figure out what kind of tricks I had up my sleeve for tonight. The game was still on, and she was going down.


	42. Chapter 42: I'm Down

**A/N: Ugh, I usually update earlier than this, massive, massive drama going on right now on the home front. Thought I was gonna have to pull a Freddie and whack someone with a baseball bat. Anyway, to sum this chapter up...we all have our insecurities. So do Sam, Carly, and Freddie. **

**Chapter 42:  
>I'm Down<strong>

~*Freddie*~

THUMP!

"Ow, dude not so hard!" Brad yelled, trying to block my next punch with his gloves. "I'm not Sam!"

I glared at him before landing a blow right to his stomach, watching as he doubled over. "That is not even funny," I growled.

"That fucking hurt!" Brad gasped out.

"You deserved that, you know that right?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't fucking hit my wife." Brad straightened up, still gasping for air.

"Yeah, I know. Cheap shot, sorry." He pounded his gloves together. "Alright, let's go."

"Alright," I said, my gloves going up. "Give me your best shot."

I was incredibly behind on my workouts, all the drama had really cut in to my time at the gym. Things seemed to be calming down a bit, which was good, maybe I could get back to getting a full three hours a day in. Sam hated how much time I spent here, but she loved the results it garnered. She had this thing about my biceps...more like an obsession really. She was always grabbing them, running her hands over them when we laid in bed together...it gave me an ego boost and pushed me that much harder to keep up my intense workouts. I'd already pushed myself a little too hard tonight, wayyy too many push-ups, so many crunches my abs felt like they were on fire, probably too much time on the treadmill. I didn't really care though, it was worth it.

"We're not doing rehearsal tonight, are we?" Brad asked me as we traded jabs.

"No, just a production meeting, why?" I responded, ducking before catching him in the shoulder.

"Taking Carly out," he replied, managing to land a blow in the middle of my chest. I shook it off like it was nothing.

"Cool. So what's on the agenda?"

"Ehh...dinner...movie...the lake..." he said with a grin.

"Still stuck on second base?"

"More like deadlocked," Brad said, ducking before hitting me with a combo, knocking me back a bit.

"Shit!" I said, trying to regain my ground. "Nice hit. So what do you plan to do about it?"

Brad shrugged. "What can I do? It's not like I can handcuff her to a bed," he looked at me pointedly.

"Very true," I responded. "So did Carly tell you she and Sam were going to watch Melanie's cheerleading thing, or was Sam just fucking with me?"

"Nah, Carly told me that. I guess they're working things out?"

"Coulda fooled me, Sam bitches about her all time," I replied.

"Ah, you know how girls are. Now let's stop acting like girls, gossiping and shit, and get back to kicking each other's ass," Brad responded, putting his gloves up. "Come on, bitch, gimme what you got!"

I laughed. "Alright, I got you," I responded. "Your ass is grass."

~*Sam*~

"I cannot believe I'm doing this," I grumbled as I plopped down on a bleacher next to Carly. "I'm only here to watch her fall on her ass, or knock Patrice on hers, whichever comes first."

"Sam, come on. You yourself said she was ranked number five in the country, of course she's gonna knock Patrice on her ass!" Carly said. "Come on, I know you hate Melanie, but we've been waiting for this day since seventh grade! The downfall of Patrice? Sam! This is like...Christmas!"

"Yeah, you're right. Just wish it was someone else besides Mel knocking her down, and I wish someone was knocking her ass out instead of off her throne."

"Aw, you said Mel!" Carly teased. I glared at her.

"Shut up!" I whined, nudging her.

"You love your sisterrrrrr..." she teased, dancing in her seat a bit.

"Carly!" I growled. "I will get up and walk the hell out right now!"

"Oh, Sam, no you won't. Freddie's still at the gym, and we're not shooting, you have nothing else to do."

"I have plenty of other things to do!" I shot back, mildly offended.

"Name one that doesn't involve eating," Carly said pointedly. Ugh, she was right. My entire life revolved around food, iCarly, and Freddie.

"Aaargh, fine!" I yelled, crossing my arms. I sat there silent for a moment, watching all the cheerleading hopefuls walk in the gymnasium. There must have been eighty of them. Good lord, were there really that many airheads in Ridgeway?

"Hey guys!" Melanie called, waving at us. I rolled my eyes.

"What the hell is she wearing? She's wearing skimpier clothes than before," I said through gritted teeth to Carly. Carly shrugged.

"Maybe she needs to be dressed skimpy to...I don't know, move around better or something?" Carly responded weakly.

Melanie came over to us, climbing up two bleachers, standing one below us. "I'm so glad you guys came!"

Ugh, she was so fake!

"So, Melanie, when are you gonna drop the act?" I asked.

"What act? I wanted you to come!" she responded.

"So you could rub in my face how perfect you are?" I shot back.

"Sam!" Carly scolded me. "Don't get into a fight with her, if she gets off her game she's not gonna make the squad."

"Carly," Melanie said with a smile. "I'm never off my game. Even when Sam is mean to me." To demonstrate, she walked down two rows of bleachers, turned towards us, and suddenly did a back-tuck off the bleachers, landing on her feet perfectly. "See?"

Carly just stared at her, mouth hanging open, impressed. I wasn't impressed, I was agitated.

"Oh, you're just showing off now!" I cried. Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Sam, that wasn't showing off, I'm holding out on that. You wanna see me show off, just wait. These other girls are going down. Wish me luck!" Melanie turned to walk away.

"Good luck, Melanie!" Carly said.

"Yeah, break a leg!" I called. "Literally," I added under my breath.

"Sam, why are you being so mean?" Carly asked me.

"I can't help it, Carly! Do you know what it's like growing up with THAT?" I pointed to Melanie as she fell into an effortless back walkover before landing into a split. "It's a fucking nightmare! And now, here she is, making me feel less than her, AGAIN!"

Carly opened her mouth to say something, but we were interrupted by Patrice storming into the gym, flanked by her four cronies, Kristen, Brooke, Carrie, and Megan. Those five girls were popular, snobby, and when not concerned with makeup, clothes, or celebrity gossip, they loved to make everyone else's life a living hell. I'd beaten the shit out of Megan in seventh grade, but it hadn't seemed to really make a difference, they were still total bitches.

"Alright, listen up!" Patrice yelled. "We have nine slots to fill! If you're fat, over 5'10, or under five feet, you can leave."

Nobody moved, and I watched girls look at each other in disbelief.

"She wasn't kidding, morons!" Kristen yelled. "Go!"

I looked at Carly. "Can you believe this shit? They act like this is the most important thing in life or something."

"To them, it is," Carly replied. "It's pathetic."

"Can we do another cheerleader sketch on iCarly?" I asked. "Please?"

Carly shrugged. "We'll write some bits," she said. "Hey, look!" She pointed, and I looked to where she was pointing to watch Patrice approach Melanie. I prayed a silent prayer than Melanie would hit her, but that probably wouldn't happen.

Patrice looked her up and down evilly. "You can leave too," she said. "No Puckett clones allowed."

Melanie shrugged. "Fine," she responded nonchalantly. I watched her turn to leave, retreating for the double doors, and my jaw dropped. Oh, hell no! She'd been driving me up the wall talking about cheerleading for two days, number one, and number two, she shared my DNA, no way in hell would I let her punk out and embarrass me like that. I stood up to go after her, but as I did, she spun back around.

"Hey!" Melanie yelled. Everyone turned around to look at her. Everyone except Patrice.

"I'm talking to you, bitch!" Melanie yelled again. Patrice turned to look at her that time, her hands on her hips.

"What did you call me?" she asked in disbelief.

"I called you a bitch!" Melanie yelled across the gym. "You want me to leave, I will! But tell me, can your squad survive without this?" she asked, extending her arms before doing a short run, suddenly going into a round-off and then a full four back-handsprings in a row, finishing off with a layout. She stopped a few feet away from Patrice, who just stood there, gaping at her. Everyone was silent, just staring at Patrice for a reaction. Patrice appeared to be unimpressed.

"Big deal," she responded. "We'll survive just fine. Get the hell out of here."

"Wait, Patrice!" Kristen spoke up. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Yeah, she's really good," Carried added.

I leaned over to Carly. "Uh-oh. Dissension in the ranks."

"The pride is turning on the alpha-bitch," she commented, her eyes wide.

Patrice was fuming. "Are you kidding me? She is not joining the squad!"

"Let her try out!" Brooke yelled.

"Yeah, let her try out, Patrice!" Carrie said.

Patrice looked amongst her pack helplessly for a moment, before throwing up her hands. "Fine, the little skank can try out, but over my dead body is she joining the squad!"

"Should I get the shovel, or do you wanna get it?" Carly asked me with a grin on her face. I shook my head.

"Nah, cremation is better. Ugh, why didn't I bring popcorn?" I responded. This could be fun to watch after all.

~*Carly*~

"Spencer! I'm home!" I yelled as I opened the door to my apartment, with Sam and Melanie close behind me.

"Hey guys!" Spencer called, working on a random sculpture that was still in its base form, so I had no idea what it could be. "How'd the tryout go?"

"Awesome!" I responded.

"I made the squad!" Melanie exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

"Yeah, and she made Patrice throw a bitch-fit!" Sam added. "It was awesome!" She stopped herself, frowning. "I mean...uh...ugh! Is Freddie here?"

"Yeah, he and Brad are upstairs," Spencer responded. Sam didn't speak, just started ascending up the staircase.

"Sam!" Melanie called. Sam stopped walking and turned around, glaring at her, making a disgusted face as Melanie blew a kiss at her.

"Ugh!" Sam yelled, stomping up the stairs, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Wow, she is trying so hard to hold on to her hatred," I commented. Melanie grinned.

"Yeah, I know. I love messing with her. I'm gonna go change. Carrie and Megan invited me to hang out and teach them some moves."

"Okay," I responded, waiting until Melanie was up the stairs before clasping my hands together and mouthing 'Thank You!' while looking skyward, before sitting down on the barstool. Melanie was nice, but so annoying I wanted to strangle her sometimes. Still, it had been fun watching her blow right past all of Patrice's influence and earn her rightful place on the Ridgeway cheerleading squad. I turned my attention to Spencer.

"So, you going out with April tonight?" I asked.

"Yep," Spencer responded, a big smile on his face. "She is so...perfect."

I frowned slightly. "Hey, Spence, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Is April, like...does she have money?"

"Yeah, her family does, why?"

"Like...how much money?"

"Uh...well...they could buy a small country. Maybe even a medium sized one. Why?"

I cleared my throat, looking at the counter awkwardly. "That doesn't bother you?"

"No, why would it? She doesn't act like a snobby rich girl. She's really sweet, and smart, and her paintings are just...god they're so good," he breathed, a dreamy look plastered across his face. God, since when did art make people horny?

I still wasn't convinced on the whole April thing. Spencer liked her a lot, but there was something about her. Maybe it was Melanie's comments that had gotten to me, but still. I'd have to investigate further. Right now, I had my own love life to worry about though, I had a date with Brad tonight, and I needed to get ready. I hoped Melanie wouldn't spend too long hogging the shower. Either way, I'd better go and see what Sam, Freddie, and Brad were up to. Either Freddie and Sam would be making out and making Brad uncomfortable, or Brad and Sam had concocted some half-brain scheme and making Freddie irritated, or Freddie and Brad could just be picking on Sam and then getting hit. Either way, none of it was good.

"Okay, well, I have a date with Brad tonight, so I might be in later than usual," I told Spencer.

"Sure. Have fun," he said.

"You too," I replied, before going up the stairs.

I walked into the studio to see Freddie fooling with his PearPad, but...where were Brad and Sam? I let out an irritated sigh as I spotted the two of them hovering near the window.

"What are you guys up to?" I yelled, startling the pair. They turned around looking guilty, each of them holding water balloons in each hand. I sighed, my head going in my hands.

"Water balloons, really?"

"Not exactly," Sam responded weakly.

"I told them it was a bad idea," Freddie grunted, not looking up from his PearPad. My eyes narrowed. Oh god, if it wasn't water in those balloons, what was it?

"Um, remember when we all agreed we were gonna stop drinking?" Sam asked.

"Yeah..." I said slowly, not getting it.

"Well, we found the beer," Brad added. "We didn't really know what to do with it, so..."

"What? Beer? Freddie! Why didn't you stop them?" I cried, smacking him on the arm. He looked up, annoyed.

"I don't wanna get hit with one of those things!" he snapped. "And I'm a little exhausted, if you haven't noticed, Carly! I can barely stand up right now!"

"Yeah, he pushed himself wayyy too hard today," Brad commented. "I practically had to drag him out of there."

Sam turned around to look at Freddie sympathetically, STILL holding the beer-balloons. "Baby, you gotta stop that. Passing out isn't worth being buff."

"Easy for you to say," he grunted. "You eat like 6000 calories a day and you're still hot as hell." Sam rolled her eyes, turning back to the window.

"Can you guys just put down the balloons so we can get down to busin-"

"Shh, shut up!" Sam shushed me. "I think that's him!"

"Who?" I asked, going towards the window.

"Lewbert!" Brad yelled. "Release the hounds!"

Oh, god. Brad was a really great guy, pretty mature for his age, which I guess was normal for anyone who had three younger siblings, but throw Sam in the mix, and the maturity went away. They tended to bring the mischief full-scale whenever they joined forces. Sam and Brad had a lot in common, maybe even more than Sam and Freddie did. It was a good thing Freddie and Sam were desperately in love, otherwise I'd worry about Sam and Brad falling for each other. I mean, for a little while last year, Freddie and I were sure Sam had a thing for Brad, but it turned out to be nothing. They did up being really good friends, and that was fine by me, I didn't want my best friend and boyfriend to hate each other. But maybe they got along too well? When Brad and Freddie weren't hanging out, Sam and he tended to team up on everything, and whoever happened to be in the cross-fires, well...it was very unfortunate for them.

"Auuuugh!" I heard. I shook my head.

"Poor Lewbert," I commented.

After Freddie and I had both gotten a little bit too annoyed by Sam and Brad's behavior, we convinced them to abandon the beer-balloon plan and sit down so we could discuss the upcoming webshow. We hadn't really gotten much done, and we were supposed to be shooting in two days! I hated to admit it, but sometimes it seemed like our personal lives got in the way of the show. The little internal dialogue I'd just had after watching Brad and Sam chuck beer-balloons out the window was still eating at me. I wondered if the same thought ever crossed Freddie's mind. I didn't want to put any thoughts in his head, but I was curious. I tried to force all thoughts of possible drama out of my head, focusing on the show.

"Okay, we have a half hour to fill, and we only have fifteen minutes worth of material," I said, grabbing my notebook. "This is a big problem." I looked up, and groaned. Sam was sitting in Freddie's lap and the two of them had started kissing.

"Can we focus here?" Brad said rudely. "Sam! Quit trying to eat Freddie's face and pay attention!"

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. I could tell she was trying to pay attention, but stupid Freddie had forgotten to put a shirt over the tank top he was wearing, and pretty soon Sam's attention shifted to Freddie's arms.

"SAM!" Brad and I yelled. She jumped.

"What? I can't help it!" she hollered. "I mean, look at these guns!"

"Freddie," I said pointedly. "Put your jacket on." I got up, walking over to the desk and grabbing his hoodie before tossing it at him. Sam gave me a mean look.

"Why you gotta spoil my fun, Carls?" I rolled my eyes.

"Look, ten minutes, and then you can go back to tying each other up and biting each other and whatever the hell else you guys do," I replied. "Okay, seriously. We need material."

"Do you want me to just go through the UGC archive and see what the viewers have sent in? We could fill five minutes with that," Freddie offered.

"Okay, that'll work. What else?"

"A word from our Spencer?" Sam suggested. "One minute."

"That still leaves nine minutes," Freddie noted. "Uhhh...damn. Our comedic skills have been really off lately, anybody else notice that?"

I nodded. "It's probably all the drama. Or maybe two of our webshow members have literally screwed the funny out of each other," I said pointedly, making Freddie and Sam glare at me.

"Cute, very cute," Sam said with a roll of her eyes. "Okay, meatball bowling. Like...giant meatball bowling. What can we use for pins?"

"Barbies," I said suddenly, an idea coming to me. "Barbies in little miniature Ridgeway cheerleading costumes."

Sam leapt out of Freddie's lap before rushing over me and planting a big kiss on my forehead. "God I love you!" she said. "That's brillant!" She flopped back down in Freddie's lap.

"Uh, Sam, you missed," Brad pointed out, with a grin on his face. "You got her forehead by mistake."

Sam glared at him, before tossing the pen Freddie was writing with at him. Freddie gave her an annoyed look.

"I was using that," he said, poking her in the stomach. She just batted her eyelashes at him, an innocent look on her face.

I looked at Sam, then back at Brad. It was my imagination. It had to be. Sam loved Freddie. A lot. And Brad said he loved me. Maybe I was just feeling insecure because things were still pretty new with Brad. I'd decided to wait and see how things went tonight before I allowed myself to get any more worked up.

I looked up, breaking away from my thoughts, and rolled my eyes. Sam and Freddie were sitting there making out AGAIN! It was like Brad and I weren't even in the room! God, did they ever know when to stop? Okay, so maybe I didn't have to worry about my best friend having feelings for my boyfriend, because she obviously had her hands full with Freddie, but as I looked at Brad, a frightening thought crossed my mind that maybe HE had feelings for HER.

What if it was because Sam was...very sexual...and I wasn't? Practically everything I had learned, I had learned from HER. I really needed to step my game up if I wanted to keep Brad interested, but I wasn't sure how far I was comfortable going. Brad had already hinted at the fact that I was a prude. He never rushed me, never pushed my boundaries, but...he was oddly cool about the whole thing between Sam and Freddie and it still freaked me, Gibby, Tasha, Melanie, even Spencer out. Brad acted like it was normal. Okay, I'd given up on judging them on what they did behind closed doors, but it definitely WASN'T normal. It was the opposite of normal. I didn't understand why Brad was so nonchalant about it. I knew he wasn't a virgin, but that was ALL I knew. I'd never asked him about anything else about his past sexual history, because I didn't want to think about my boyfriend being with anyone else. I LOVED him, and I didn't want to lose him. I just didn't know how far I had to go to keep that from happening.

"Hey," Brad said, his hand on my knee. "Maybe you should get ready, if you want to change I mean."

I nodded, standing up quickly. Maybe Melanie had something slutty I could borrow. "I'll be back soon," I responded, bending down to kiss him. I kissed him a little harder than usual, my tongue rubbing against his, gripping the back of his neck a little harder than I normally would. I pulled away, and he was just staring at me, eyes wide, mouth open. I gave him a sexy smile. "Just wait for me, okay?"

"Uh-huh," he said, still in shock.

~*Freddie*~

Sam wouldn't stop staring at me. She was sitting on our living room couch, legs crossed, flipping through channels, pressing the button over and over, but she wasn't even looking at the tv, she was just staring at me. I was down on the floor in front of her, doing sit ups. I was sore as hell, but I didn't care.

"What?" I asked, sitting up, taking a second to catch my breath. She didn't respond, just kept looking at me. "Sam? Sam!" I called, snapping my fingers in front of her face. "Earth to Sam!"

She snapped out of her trance. "What?" she snapped, looking at the tv suddenly.

"What were you staring at?" I asked, resting my chin on the couch and looking up at her with a smirk on my face.

"You," she responded simply.

"And why were you staring at me?"

"Because you're fucking hot," she stated, her eyes locked with mine.

"Sam! Don't swear, honey!" my mom called from her bedroom, the door partially open.

"Sorry!" Sam called back, her eyes never leaving mine.

"So you think I'm hot, huh?" I teased, tickling her leg a little bit.

"Uh, duh. But I think you need to cool it a little bit, baby. You're kinda starting to obsess a little bit. It's making me nervous."

"Sorry, I just...like being in shape," I responded.

"Are you sore?" she asked, reaching down to tangle her fingers through my hair. I nodded, shrugging.

"Yeah, a little," I replied.

"Turn around," Sam said.

"What? Why?" I asked, growing suspicious. I still hadn't forgotten about what took place in the library, and there was a slight chance she was still a little agitated about it.

Sam sighed. "Just do it, nub."

Against my better judgment, I turned my back to her, still sitting on the carpet, still wary of whatever it was she planned to do to me. I felt her scoot forward, hanging her legs over either side of my body, and then I felt her hands on the back of my neck, rubbing at my sore muscles. I groaned, hanging my head down. Damn, no wonder she loved that, that felt really good. Her hands moved to my shoulders, applying more pressure.

"God, that feels good," I said softly.

"Good," she responded, leaning down to kiss me on the side of my neck. "You tired, baby?"

"Uh-huh." I replied.

"Too tired for the game?"

I sighed. For once, I was. I had pushed myself a little too hard, and I was pretty much exhausted. "Yeah, baby. I am."

"That's okay," she responded, continuing to rub my shoulders. "I'll give you the night off, just this once," she teased.

I leaned my head back on the couch, looking up at her. "Why do I feel like you have something up your sleeve?" I asked her. She shook her head, leaning down to kiss me softly. As she lifted back up, I looked at her eyes, carefully, searching for any hint of mischief. I didn't see any. Maybe she would take it easy on me tonight.

One of her hands went to the back of my head, picking it up a little. "Head back down," she stated, rubbing at my neck again. She continued for a few minutes, before pulling her legs back in and moving around me to stand up. I looked up at her, perplexed, and she held out her hands.

"Come on, Rocky, let's go to bed."

I smiled at her before taking her hands and pulling myself up. We walked back to the bedroom before Sam shut the door behind us, locking it.

"Take off your shirt," she said, then stopped suddenly. "Actually, nevermind."

"What?"

She gave me a grin before walking over to me, grabbing the hem of my shirt. "Let me do it instead." I let her, and she pulled it over my head before tossing it on the floor. Man, I was so worn-out. But not too worn out to complain about Sam's housekeeping skills.

"Laundry basket," I said, falling back onto the bed, which was coincidentally just a mattress and a box-spring sitting on the floor, no bedframe, since a certain someone had broken it a few nights ago. Sam rolled her eyes before reaching down to scoop up my shirt and put it in the basket. She walked over to the bed, sitting down next to me, and I watched her eyes roam over my body, biting her bottom lip.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, baby?" I asked her.

"You just keep getting hotter and hotter, it's almost not fair," she commented, her hand tracing over my abs. I felt my lower body jerk in response. My brain was exhausted, but apparently other parts of me were not. "You could stop working out TODAY and you wouldn't have to do another sit-up for months. And you'd still be so cut it's ridiculous."

I snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Lay on the bed the right way." I did, and she straddled me suddenly.

"Baby, I'm really tired," I commented, hating myself for even saying it. What was the point of getting more in shape to turn my wife on if I was too exhausted to do anything about it afterwards?

"I know," she responded, bending down to kiss my neck, before trailing over my chest, my ribs, my abs. "That's why I'm gonna let you just lay here, and let me do all the work."

"Oh, so now it's work?" I taunted. She grinned at me.

"Yeah, it's a tough life, but I can't complain." She pulled her shirt off before unfastening her bra and tossing it aside. "Don't even think about telling me to get up and put that away, because it's not gonna happen." Without waiting for a response, she leaned back down to kiss me, moaning at the feel of our bare skin pressed up against each other. That always got a rise out of her, and me as well. Her skin was so soft and warm...I loved it.

"I love you," she said. "So, so much. You are so fucking perfect for me." She kissed me again.

"I love you, baby. More than anything," I responded.

"Good," she said, pulling away from my mouth and kissing back down my body, before unbuckling my belt and unbuttoning and unzipping my jeans. She looked up at me. "Lift." I lifted my hips, and she quickly pulled my pants and boxers down my legs, letting them fall on the floor. She pulled away to look at me, licking her lips.

"My god," she said. "You are so sexy...I mean, Jesus Christ, Freddie!" She ran her hands up my body, starting at my legs and going all the way up my neck before bending down to kiss me again. I groaned against her mouth, my arms wrapping around her and pulling her to me. She had no idea what this was doing for my ego, it made me feel a million times better. Sam was hot as hell, and sometimes I still felt like a skinny little nerd. My hands went down to her waist to tug at the shorts she was wearing, and she pulled them off the rest of the way, along with her underwear. I tried to pull her on top of me, but she pulled away.

"Wait," she said. I gave her a confused look, but all that went away when she bent down suddenly and took me into her mouth.

"Jesus, Sam!" I hissed, my hips coming off the bed. Her hands went to my hips as she continued moving her head up and down. God, it felt SO good. Anything she did with her tongue and mouth felt like heaven. After a few minutes, she pulled away, before straddling me again, and suddenly I was inside her, both of us moaning at the same time. She bent down to rub her gorgeous breasts over my chest and kiss my neck.

"Feel good, baby?" she asked before licking and nibbling at my ear.

"God yes," I said, grabbing her hips and grinding her against me. She moaned, bucking slightly. I moved one hand to the back of her head to pull her down to kiss me, but she turned her head.

"Don't, I just..."

"Fuck it, I don't care," I growled, turning her head back to face me and kissing her passionately. All memory of my exhaustion gone, I rolled us over so I was on top, taking her legs and wrapping them around me.

"Hey!" she complained. "I was supposed to be on top tonight! It was my turn to take care of you, remember?"

"You are, baby," I replied, moving in and out of her slowly. "You take care of me so well. I love you." I kissed her again, continuing to move my hips against her in a slow, grinding motion. She gasped, burying her face in my shoulder, her hands gripping my biceps, and I felt her thighs start to shake a little.

"God, that feels so good..." she moaned. "Ohhh...Freddie...god..."

I didn't slow down or speed up, just tried to keep up the same pace. It was a little difficult, I'll admit it, but so worth it. It felt amazing. She felt amazing. I kissed her neck softly before rising up a little so I could do the same to her breasts, and she moaned, her back arching.

"Uhhh...baby...don't stop...please..." she trailed off, grinding her hips harder.

"I'm not," I responded against her skin. "God, Sam...you feel so good, baby..." I groaned.

"You too!" she said. "Oh! I...Freddie...oh god...aah!" she cried out, shaking uncontrollably against me. I wasn't too far behind, and I was beyond trying to control it tonight, I simply gave in, quaking against her before collapsing. I laid down next to her, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her.

"That didn't go exactly as I'd planned," she commented, gazing at me, playing with my hair.

"You complaining?" I teased. She shook her head 'no', a slow smile spreading across her face.

"No. That was really nice...amazing," she replied. One of her eyebrows went up, and I recognized the mischievous expression that suddenly crossed her face. "But tomorrow? Don't work out so hard. Cuz the game's back on."

"Oh, you know it is," I responded, reaching down to give her beautiful ass a quick squeeze. She squealed a little, shoving at my chest.

"Love you," she said, before yawning. "You tired?"

I nodded. "Exhausted. Sleep?"

"Uh-huh," she responded, already sounding like she was about to drift off. "Turn off the light."

"K." I leaned over her to switch off the lamp, then pulled her back into my arms, kissing her. "Love you, Mrs. Benson."

"Love you too, baby." she said, laying her head on my chest.


	43. Chapter 43: I Want To Tell You

**A/N: Oh, look! More drama! Better on the page than in my life! Also...um...Carly gets a lil naughty. Hehe. =)**

**Chapter Forty Three:  
>I Want To Tell You<strong>

~*Carly*~

I glanced over at Brad as he parked the car. We had just came from a movie that I hadn't even paid attention to because I was so wrapped up in my thoughts. I kept going back to how well he and Sam got along, and how it almost seemed like he was flirting with her. It bugged the hell out of me.

Things sure had changed over the past few months! Right up until the junior year lock-in when Sam finally got bold and kissed Freddie in the school courtyard, I had been the one giving HER dating advice, and I was the one who got more attention from guys. We had both been boy-crazy, but perpetually single. Now Sam was the hot topic at school amongst all the male students, we both had boyfriends, and Sam had to give me advice. And now she was married, happily settled, but getting attention from my boyfriend that I didn't like. The more I thought about it, the more things I picked up on. Brad got away with teasing her more than anyone in our group except Freddie. If Gibby mouthed off to Sam, he would pay dearly for it, but Sam barely retaliated when it came to Brad! I didn't want to think anything was going on, but I had a nagging feeling it was.

"Are you okay?" Brad asked as he leaned over to kiss me on the side of my neck. "You seem like you're somewhere else."

"No, I'm fine," I responded, giving him a sweet smile and kissing him. He smiled at me, playing with my hair.

"You look really pretty tonight," he said. "I like this thing you're wearing..."

"It's a bustier," I said with a laugh. He nodded.

"Right. Well, you should definitely wear it more often. Just...not at school." He kissed me, and I began kissing him back eagerly, my hands going to the back of his neck and pulling him closer to me. I shifted in my seat a little so I was facing him more, and he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. We kept going like that for a few minutes, and I suddenly pulled away, looking at him.

"Brad, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" Brad looked at me strangely like he could tell I was up to something.

"Does it bother you that we don't...that I'm a...you know...that all we do is kiss?" I asked.

Brad shook his head before kissing me again. "Nope. It doesn't bother me that you're a...you know...virgin," he teased me. "I mean, I get worked up when we make out like this, but I can't really help that. But I'm not gonna rush you into anything. You're not ready for that, and we haven't even been dating that long."

"But...what do you do when you get worked up like that?"

"Carly!" Brad said. "What...what do you think?" He looked at me pointedly.

"I don't know, I...oh. Ohhhh..." I said, my eyes growing big.

"Yeah, let's just...not talk about that."

I tried to focus on my task at hand that I had planned out in my head during my obligatory long "clear my head" shower earlier in the night. I wasn't going to sleep with him, but I HAD to step my game up before he got bored with me.

"Um..." I trailed off, trying to think things through. "What does it feel like?"

"What's gotten into you tonight? You're being weird, and what do you mean, what does it feel like? I mean, you know what it feels like, don't you?" Brad asked, leaning back in his seat a bit.

I shook my head slowly. "Actually, no...I don't."

Brad gaped at me. "Wait...no way. No. You're not serious." I shrugged, and he gasped aloud. "Carly! You're telling me you've never...I mean...ever?"

"No," I said weakly. "I haven't...I mean...it just didn't seem...right?"

"Wow," Brad said, a shocked expression on his face. "Uh, wow...I did not expect to be having this conversation tonight with you."

"Sorry," I said lamely. "Can we just forget I said anything, go back to kissing?"

"Yeah," Brad responded, and a look flickered across his face that I couldn't quite read, but it had a little hint of his 'idea face'. Uh-oh. What was going on now? "Come here," he said, getting up suddenly and pulling me into the backseat with him. I sat in his lap, kissing him, sighing as I felt his hands going my back, lifting the bottom of my shirt up so he could feel my skin. We'd done this quite a few times, making out in the backseat, but it never went beyond just kissing and little bit of groping, so I was very surprised when he suddenly flipped me over, laying me across the backseat and coming over me, kissing me again.

Oh, this was new. We'd never made out while laying down with him on top of me. He trailed his mouth away from mine to kiss at my neck, before flicking his tongue at my earlobe and then snaking around behind my ear. I gasped, gripping his shoulders. This felt SO GOOD.

Brad pushed my hair off my shoulder, lightly running his hand over my skin until he came to my cleavage, squeezing a bit. I moaned a little bit, feeling my hips go up against his. It was like they moved on their own a little bit. He went back to kissing my neck before going even lower, his hand going lower at the same time, going under me to squeeze my butt a bit, before going around and rubbing between my legs. Aah, this felt incredible. He'd touched me there before, but it didn't change the fact that every time he did it it felt like electricity was shooting up from between my legs to the rest of my body. I was started to breathe heavier, and I knew the windows were starting to fog up. Brad was enjoying this too, I knew that, because I could feel it on my leg. My eyes popped open as I felt him go for the button on my jeans.

"Brad..." I trailed off. Don't speak, you idiot! You like this, what are you freaking out about?

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, kissing my neck again, his tongue tracing a trail up to my ear.

"I...no...I just..."

He lifted his head to look at me. "Just relax, okay? I'm not gonna hurt you. Trust me." His hand was still poised at the button on my jeans, not moving, just waiting to see if I would tell him to stop.

I nodded, still breathing heavy. "Okay..."

"Relax," he said again, kissing me. I felt him pop the button effortlessly before pulling down the zipper. He continued to kiss me passionately, as if trying to get my mind off what was happening.

Nothing on earth could have prepared me for what it felt like when his hand went into my jeans, in my panties, and then touched my bare skin. I tore my mouth away from his, moaning.

"Aah!" I squeaked, my hips jerking. Oh my god. Oh my god. This was the most incredible feeling in the entire world. He began rubbing me there, softly at first, then applying more pressure, and even though I tried not to, I couldn't stop myself from grinding against his hand. It felt so good, like my entire body was on fire, in a very good way. I felt dizzy and I couldn't focus on anything except how good this felt. I couldn't even focus on kissing him, so he gave up and went back to kissing my neck, his free hand massaging my breast.

"Oh, god..." I whispered. "Brad...this feels so...AH!" What just happened? He found an even more sensitive spot! He wasn't inside me, it was something else, and oh my god, it felt amazing! I was starting to pant and I felt a little bit hot. My hips just would NOT stay still, I was grinding against him even more than before, and it felt so, so good. I was starting to shake a little bit.

It was starting to get more and more intense, if that was even possible. I was starting to tense up and I had gone from grinding against him to kind of jerking a little bit. I didn't even have control over my own body! I could feel myself getting more and more worked up, the sensations getting harder and harder to deal with. It was like my body was reaching for something, but what?

I started having this panicky feeling, and I couldn't stop moaning. I felt my muscles down there clenching up, but I didn't know why. All I knew was this felt amazing. I gripped his shoulders harder, and then suddenly panic set in full-scale. I was completely losing control, and my back arched against my will. My legs were shaking. God, what was happening?

"Brad..." I said worriedly. "Brad...what...oh god..."

"Shhh," he said, kissing me. "Just go with it. Just let go."

Let go of what? Oh my god, what was he doing to me? My body couldn't control itself! I had even lost the ability to stop myself from moaning, and I was being so loud, it was embarrassing!

My back arched even harder until my head was off the seat, and I started to quake. Oh my god, I felt like my nerves were going to snap in half!

"Oh my god," I said, a lot louder than I'd wanted to. "Brad...oh my god...I...I can't...BRAD! AAAH!"

All of a sudden, I felt this intense...well...explosion, for lack of a better word. I couldn't speak, move, or think, at least that's what I thought, until it occurred to me that I was making all kinds of noise, and I was shaking and jerking and...oh god...it felt so good...I finally collapsed, still shaking, my head spinning, until I became faintly aware of Brad zipping my jeans back up and kissing my neck, before kissing my mouth softly, sweetly. I was a little sweaty, and I just felt so out of it. I moaned softly. What the hell was that? Would it happen again? I hoped so! That was incredible! I opened my eyes finally and looked up and Brad, still breathing heavily.

"Well?" he asked, looking at me intently, toying with my hair.

"So...so that's what all the fuss is about?" I asked. Brad laughed, kissing me.

"Yeah, babe, that's what all the fuss is about."

"Oh," I said lamely, pausing for a second. "That felt really good."

"Good," Brad responded, kissing me.

"Thanks...you know...for doing that."

Brad sat up, pulling me up with him. "Oh, I enjoyed doing that. A lot."

"You did?"

"Uh yeah...I love your body. And...I mean...there's something kinda cool about giving a girl her first orgasm EVER. I can't believe you've never done that...to yourself...before."

"Well...I might start," I laughed. Brad gave me an intense, serious expression before kissing me passionately.

"No need, just let me know, I'll take care of it for you."

I laid my head on his shoulder, nodding. I looked down, and my eyes widened a little bit as I noticed the little tent in his jeans. "Um, should I...you know...for you?"

Brad leaned over to look at the clock, and groaned. "It's almost two, Carly. I gotta get you back home before Spencer calls my dad or something. But another night, definitely." He paused, kissing me. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, staring up at him and his beautiful blue eyes. I did love him. That's why I would do whatever it took to make sure I didn't lose him. There was no doubt about it though, I had no regrets about what had just happened in his backseat. I had never felt anything in my life that had felt so good. I couldn't wait to let him to do it to me again!

~*Freddie*~

"Baby, get up," I heard Sam say. "We're late."

I couldn't even move. Every time I just moved an inch, pain radiated through my muscles. It felt like I'd been hit by a bus.

"Urggg..." I groaned. God, Sam, waking ME up? This wasn't normal. "I feel like shit," I said weakly, rolling over. I felt Sam sit down on the bed next to me, her hand rubbing up and down my back.

"I told you not to push yourself so hard," she said softly. "You have to get up, honey."

"I know," I responded. "Just don't feel like it."

Sam got up, and I heard her rustling through the closet, then the sound of something hitting the bed. I opened my eyes and saw my clothes laying next to me.

"Just get dressed, I'll go get you some coffee," she responded, bending down to kiss the side of my face. "You are NOT going to the gym today."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I am."

"How? You can't even get out of bed. We're going to be super late, I have a test in English. Get up, baby." She opened the door and walked out.

I finally willed myself to sit up, moving slower than usual. It took tremendous effort just to lift my arms, and my stomach muscles were still burning. Sam walked back in, setting a mug of coffee down on the bedside table before crossing her arms and staring at me.

"What?" I grunted. She rolled her eyes, grabbing my shirt.

"Arms up," she responded. I obliged half heartedly, and she pulled the shirt over my head. "This is getting out of hand, Freddie. Way out of hand. You're taking this to a level that is just scary."

I shook my head. "Baby, I'm not. I just pushed it too hard yesterday, that's all. It won't happen again."

Sam studied my face carefully, I guess she was trying to figure out if I was being sincere or not. "Okay," she said finally. "Because you know I will talk to Brad and find out." I grunted. She talked to Brad a little too much for me to be comfortable with it, but I wasn't in the mood to argue about it today.

"Fine," I responded, standing up to put the rest of my clothes on.

"I have to go finish my makeup, just let me know when you're ready," she said, before kissing me. With that, she turned and walked into the bathroom.

I was amazed I was even able to drive, but I did manage to get us to school with five minutes to spare. I trudged behind Sam slowly. God, everything so bad! I just wanted to keel over and take a nap right in the middle of the hallway floor! Sam walked over to our lockers where Carly and Melanie were standing, and I joined her moments later, leaning against the lockers, exhausted.

"Hey!" Sam said.

"Oh my god, guys!" Melanie said to us. "Guess what?"

Sam rolled her eyes, but obliged her. "What, Melanie?"

"Carly had her first orgasm on her date with Brad!" Melanie said excitedly. Ugh, I thought, rolling my eyes. Good for Brad for edging closer to third base but there were some things I didn't want or need to know!

"Melanie!" Carly shrieked in embarrassment, smacking her on the arm. "Oh my god!"

Sam looked at Carly with a hurt expression on her face. "Wait, you told Melanie and not me? Why would you do that?"

Carly shrugged. "I sent you a text."

Sam glared at her, before pulling her phone out of her bag, flipping through it, looking up to glare at her again. "No, you didn't. And you just lied to me! Why...nevermind." she said, before slamming her locker shut and walking away. I pushed myself off the lockers with a groan. No, no, no! I didn't wanna deal with this! It was too early! I was too sore!

"Carly!" I snapped, but I didn't even have the strength to yell at her. "You...I...BAD CARLY!" I yelled, before turning to go after Sam, my head hanging down in immense self-pity.

~*Sam*~

"Dude, it's not my fault!" I yelled at Brad as we walked out of geometry class. "I don't assign grades!"

"Those weren't even grades! And it is your fault!" he responded. I rolled my eyes as we walked down the hallway, and I spotted Freddie leaning against the lockers, looking pitiful, while Carly was talking to Gibby about something.

"Just shut up, Brad. I can't control what stupid Mr. Howard does," I said as I walked over to Freddie. I wrapped my arms against him, leaning my head against his chest. "Hey baby. Feeling any better?"

"No," he groaned. "What's going on?"

"Sam's gonna make everyone fail!" Brad said, irritated. I glared at him, reaching through my bag to find something to throw at him, but Freddie grabbed my arm suddenly, and I looked up at him to see him shake his head. Well, at least his brain had re-engaged enough to pick up on what I was doing again. I've said it before, but that boy can read me like a book!

Carly, who still hadn't spoken to me for some reason, looked at Brad. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened! I told you it wasn't my fault!" I said defensively.

"Yeah, it is, Sam! You're upsetting the delicate balance of the academic world!" Brad said. He looked at Carly. "The geometry test yesterday? Sam got an A and Mr. Howard freaked out and gave everybody else L's and W'S!"

"What?" Carly asked. "Nuh-uh!"

"It's true!" Brad insisted, pulling his test out of his backpack and showing her his test with a big red W on it.

"Maybe it stands for 'Well Done'," Gibby commented. Brad and I both glared at him, but then Carly glared at me!

She was just being weird today! First confiding in my sister and not me, and now she was hardly talking to me! Did I do something? I thought we were cool and had gotten over the spat at the Groovie Smoothie, but maybe not. I felt Freddie kiss me on the top of my head, and I looked up at him.

"Good job," he said. "I told you that you were smart. Just needed to make a little effort." I shrugged. I didn't really care about my grades. I just wanted to get through school, and get into college, and start a nice happy little life with Freddie. Away from all this stupid high-school drama. It wasn't fair, Freddie and I had to deal with adult drama AND teenage drama, plus doing the show. We had so much on our plates. The next break from school, Thanksgiving, was still a little ways away, but it would definitely be a welcome one. I looked across the hallway at my stupid sister talking to her dumb cheerleader friends. She was really pissing me off, she WAS trying to steal Carly away from me, that's why Carly was being weird and keeping things from me and talking to Melanie about it instead. Well, I'd be damned if I let THAT happen. If Melanie crossed one more line, I was going to let her have it!

~*Brad*~

"Wait, so you didn't tell Sam you were going to the gym?" I gave Freddie an incredulous look as I stood over him, spotting him while he did reps with the barbell. "She's gonna be pissed. She told you not to go today."

"It's fine," he grunted. "She can complain all she wants, but she shuts up every time I take my shirt off."

I shook my head. Freddie was beginning to get out of control with this whole thing.

"She's worried about you man."

Freddie put the barbell back on the holder before sitting up, trying to catch his breath. "You sure do talk to my wife a lot."

"What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Freddie replied, standing up. "Just that you two talk...a lot."

"We're friends?" I replied, my hands going up in a confused manner. "You sure don't care if she talks to Gibby!"

"Yeah, but she hates Gibby. She doesn't hate you."

"What, so you put a ring on her finger and she's not allowed to have male friends? Someone's a little insecure," I commented. Freddie turned around, glaring at me.

"No, I'm not," he stated. "Just saying, maybe if you talked to your girlfriend as much as you talked to my wife..." He shrugged. "Just forget it. I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Treadmill," he replied. I rolled my eyes, before walking into the locker room, picking up my phone.

'We need to talk,' I texted Sam.

Sam: About what? Is Freddie with you? I can't find him. I had to get a ride with Gibby's dumb ass.

I texted her back. 'Yea. He is. Where R U now? With Carly?'

Sam: At the apt. IDK where Carly is either. Where R U?

I sighed. I wished she hadn't asked me that. She was going to flip out.

'The gym.'

Sam: Son of a bitch! Be right there. Don't warn him. After I deal with this, we'll talk. L8R.

I went to put my phone away, but it beeped at me again. I picked it up, thinking it was Sam, but it was my dad.

Dad: Need you to babysit again tonight.

I groaned, rolling my eyes. This was the third night this week! I was so, so incredibly sick of all this shit. I texted him back.

'I have rehearsals tonight. What time?' And I wanted to spend time with Carly, dammit! Why couldn't they hire a real babysitter instead of always using me?

Beep!

Dad: Won't be til later, around 10:30 or so. Plenty of time for your webshow thing. Also, got you an interview lined up for the academy on Monday.

I wanted to chuck my phone at the wall. Webshow THING? And an interview for the academy? I wasn't going to the damn academy!

'Fine. Not going to the interview. Film school. Told you that.'

Dad: We'll discuss it later. Just be there tonight in time. Don't want to be late.

I rolled my eyes. I'm sure he didn't want to be late. Ugh, I hated my parents. Dad had come in handy over the whole Bill thing, but beyond that, they just caused so much discord in my life. Already they'd cost me a lot, and now that I had started over in Seattle, I wouldn't let them do it again. I couldn't.

I had walked out of the locker room and had began doing free weight exercises for all of ten minutes when I spotted Sam storming through the gym, making a beeline for Freddie. God, she was pissed. She was going to kill him, and he was going to be really pissed at me for letting her know what was up. Maybe it was because he was overly sore, but Freddie was in a really bad mood today, just generally being short with me and very much unlike himself. I was still confused about what the whole shot about 'talking to his wife too much' meant. Weren't we all supposed to be friends? Sam was a cool chick, and a lot of fun to hang out with! She always thought of cool pranks, would eat anything I put in front of her, and any girl who could throw a hit like a man was okay in my book. I didn't know what all the fuss was about!

I watched as Sam walked over to Freddie, still on the treadmill, and jerked him off of it, her hands going to her hips and yelling at him. He was silent at first, but then he began yelling back.

"You told me you weren't going to go today!" I heard her yell. "You lied! You're turning into a gymrat, a juicehead! You have a problem!"

"Don't do this in front of everyone, Sam! I don't have a problem!" he yelled back.

"Fine," Sam said, grabbing his arm. "I'll yell at you back home. Let's go, NOW!"

After a moment of glaring at her, Freddie finally surrendered, stomping to the locker room like a child throwing a temper tantrum. This was getting ridiculous. Sam walked over to me while she waited for Freddie to change.

"That was intense," I commented.

"Yeah, no kidding. But I think he really has a problem, Brad. He couldn't even get out of bed this morning, and now he's back here? Something's wrong," Sam responded. "Okay, so don't forget rehearsals tonight. If I can ever track your girlfriend down! She's avoiding me!"

"Everybody's gone off the damn deep end today," I grunted, crossing my arms. Sam looked at me for a second before grinning.

"So did you really get Carly off in the backseat of your car last night?"

"Yup," I said proudly, stretching a bit. "She had no idea what hit her."

Sam laughed. "Hot. Okay, well, I'll see you later, and then...we talk?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I have to babysit tonight. You know," I said, giving her a Look.

"Sorry," she said with a sympathetic look on her face. "Well, maybe if I can distract Freddie or something I'll stop by." She paused. "It's not anything like...heavy...is it?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I'll know more after rehearsals tonight. Oh, here comes Freddie, be quiet. I'll see you later."

She shrugged. "Okay. Thanks Brad!" She smiled at me before turning and grabbing Freddie by his arm, fussing at me the whole time. Freddie turned his head to look at me, giving me one of the meanest glares I had ever seen.

I groaned loudly, plopping down on the floor. I guess it was just silly for me to think we could go any amount of time without something going wrong!


	44. Chapter44:You're Going To Lose That Girl

**A/N: Okay, okay, okay! Got it done before midnight for a change, I know you guys were freaking out, because I read the reviews, and...damn. Very strong words, but I love it because it means you guys are REALLY invested in the story. It's awesome! One little added note, the Brad situation described in this chapter did not just randomly pop out of my pervy little head, I've been wanting to weave this into a story for awhile after I met a girl in college with the same problem. On with the show!**

**Chapter Forty Four:  
><strong>**You're Going to Lose That Girl**

~*Carly*~

Ugh, this was the worst rehearsal ever! Nothing was coming together, everyone was all lost in thoughts of their own drama! I was still in a tizzy over the whole thing that could possibly be going on with Sam, and Sam and Freddie were barely speaking. Brad had told me that Sam had stormed into the gym today and pretty much dragged Freddie out, and Freddie was still pissed at her, AND Brad for that matter.

Brad was being sweet to me, as always, but it didn't change the fact that I wanted to hit him and Sam. The rest of us were all pissed off, other than clueless Gibby of course, but Brad and Sam just carried on like nothing was wrong, making jokes, laughing...Sam had even poked him in the stomach once! I wanted to snap her finger off!

I wasn't going to tell her anything involving any intimate stuff between Brad and I. I didn't want Sam picturing Brad in that way. I wanted her to think of Brad like a Ken doll...no naughty parts.

It was OBVIOUS that Freddie was pissed, and myself as well. Too obvious. In fact, I made no effort to hide it. I was making every effort not to be personable, just to see if Brad would notice and ask me what was wrong. He didn't. I was furious. I sat there on the table, watching Sam and Brad flirt. Wanted. To. Kill. Them.

"Hey, Sam," Brad said. "What do you call a dog with no legs?"

Sam wrinkled her nose. "Uh, I dunno, what?"

"Doesn't matter, he ain't coming," Brad responded with a grin. Sam laughed, throwing a ball of paper at him.

"You're ridiculous!" she responded.

I took the opportunity to look at Freddie, who was glaring at the two of them, then his eyes drifted over to me. We stared at each other for a moment, and I knew he was thinking the exact same thing as me. This had to stop.

"Brad," I said all of a sudden. "Are we gonna hang out tonight?"

Brad looked up at me, like he just remembered I was in the room or something. "I'm sorry, babe. I can't. I have to babysit."

"But that's the third time this week!" I cried. "You can't get them to get someone else to do it?"

"No, Carly, I can't," he said flatly. "In fact, what time is it?"

"It's almost ten," Freddie said. "Babysitting this late? What do your parents do so late on a Thursday night?" I could tell he was angling at something, but I couldn't tell what it was yet.

"Uh...nothing. Just...stuff," Brad said awkwardly. "I gotta go." He bent down to kiss me. "I'll call you later. Love you, babe."

"Love you too," I grunted, looking down. He had to be bullshitting me, what could his parents possibly be doing this late? I looked up, and noticed only Freddie and I were still in the room. "Freddie? Where's Sam? Where's Gibby?"

"They went downstairs," Freddie grunted. "Do me a favor, Carly."

"What?"

He stood up. "Sleep with Brad already...so he'll leave my fucking wife alone! I'm gonna punch him in the head, I swear to god!"

"Freddie, calm down, we don't know for sure if..."

"Are you kidding me, Carly? Are you blind? They talk all the time, they joke around, they text, they have inside jokes, Carly!" Freddie said. "I mean...god! I don't wanna be like this, I've been shrugging it off for awhile, but it's obvious! He likes her!"

"No, he doesn't!" I said defensively. "She likes him!"

Freddie glared at me. "No offense, Carly, but I have Sam more than satisfied."

What, and Brad wasn't happy with me? "If she's so satisfied then why are you so insecure about Brad then?"

"She doesn't like him! She doesn't like skinny guys, she said that!"

"Maybe to throw you off the scent," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What? Look..." he started to yell, then trailed off. "Okay, this isn't going to get us anywhere. We have to figure out what's really going on, and then deal with it accordingly."

"How are we going to do that? They're being shady right now...both of them," I said. Freddie sighed, trying to think.

"You're right. They are. But...what about Melanie?"

I gave him a Look. "What about Melanie?"

"Uh, the uber horny identical twin?" he responded. "We could get her to...well, you know!"

I looked at him, horrified. "I see where you're going with this, and no! I can't do that! We can't do that! What if he actually goes for it?"

"Then you'll know," he replied seriously. "And it won't leave any questions."

"Okay, but Brad doesn't have an identical twin. How will we know if Sam..." I started, but Freddie cut me off.

"She doesn't!" he snapped. "I know she doesn't!"

"I think you're in denial, Freddie!"

"I am not in denial!" he shouted. "Sam wouldn't do that!"

"Oh, but Brad would?" I replied. "You know what, Freddie? You can just go to..."

The door swung open, and it was Gibby. "Hey, Freddie! Can you help me fix my cell phone?"

Freddie shook his head quickly, as if trying to clear out those confrontational thoughts out of his head. "What's wrong with it?"

"Uh...I don't know," he replied lamely.

"Gibby, where's Sam?" I asked.

"She went across the hall," Gibby responded. "Can you help me or not?"

Freddie and I stared at each other for a minute. I was going to find Sam and figure things out, and he knew it. The question was, was she really in their apartment, or was she in Brad's apartment? "Okay, forget the doppelganger plan. We don't have time for that. You fix Gibby's phone, and I'll go...fix everything else." I started to turn around and head for the door.

"Carly," he called. I turned to look back at him.

"What?" I asked.

"I mean it, I'll kill him," he growled. I just shook my head before walking out the door.

~*Sam*~

I knocked on the door of Brad's apartment, looking around to make sure no one had seen me. The last thing I needed was for Carly and Freddie to think we were hanging out alone together, even if we were. Freddie was still pissed at me over the whole gym issue, but something else was bothering him. He wouldn't talk to me, so I couldn't figure out what was going on. And Carly? Ugh, she was being SUCH a brat. It drove me insane!

Brad opened the door a minute later. "Hey," he said, pulling open the door so I could walk in.

"Your parents gone?" I asked.

"Yep. Bryson and Leah are passed out, Heather spent the night at her friend's house. Have a seat," he said. "You want a drink or something?"

"Yeah," I responded, plopping down on the sofa. "You got any more beer?"

"But Sam, what would Freddie think?" Brad teased me before going to the fridge to pull out two Heinekins.

"What would Freddie think if he knew I were here with you alone?" I shot back, standing up to take the beer from him.

"Uh, he wouldn't think, he'd just start swinging," Brad replied, sitting down on the huge armchair that was right next to the sofa. "Okay, first of all...speaking of all that. I've been thinking."

"About?" I countered, sipping my beer, before making a face. "Ugh, can't you upgrade? This stuff tastes like ass!"

Brad shrugged. "I don't pick the beer, Sam, I just swipe it from my dad. Anyway. Okay, Freddie's being an ass right now."

"Yep. And Carly's being a bitch," I responded.

"Hey!" Brad scolded me. "Don't say that about my girlfriend. But they're both being..."

"Insecure as shit?" I finished.

"Yeah, they are! Both of them! I mean, I don't know, Sam. Maybe we should stop hanging out so much?"

I gave him a Look. "How are we going to do that? Your girlfriend is my best friend, and my husband is your best friend, and we work together! I mean, we're kinda stuck! Do they want us to hate each other or something?"

"Yeah, probably!" Brad said. "I'm just saying, maybe we should just pretend to dislike each other a little bit more. And not be so buddy-buddy."

"But I like hanging out with you!" I argued. "I like being able to be one of the guys sometimes, and I can't do that with Freddie anymore, because he's stopped looking at me like that. I love the way he looks at me now...and all the...incredibly dirty things he does to me," I grinned, and Brad rolled his eyes. "...But I do like being one of the boys!"

"What about Gibby?" Brad responded.

"Gibby's not a boy. Gibby's an alien."

"Well, do you want to lose Freddie over being one of the boys? Or get me punched in the face over it?"

"Well...I mean...you can take a hit, right?" I asked, laughing a bit as he glared at me. "No, I don't. But they shouldn't freak out so much, they need to just grow up! I don't want anybody but Freddie. And I know you love Carly."

"They're being ridiculous," Brad complained, chugging his beer. "It's so annoying! So what do we do?"

I sighed, my hand going through my hair. "I guess we'll cool it a bit. But...I still need you to make fudge for me. It's like a drug."

Brad laughed. "I'll see what I can do." He paused. "So, what about the other stuff? How's that going? Still having your little inner struggle?"

I shrugged, leaning back a bit. "Well, I mean, what is there to say really? Obviously nothing happened last night, nothing intense anyway, Freddie was worn out. It was nice though, sweet."

"Thought you didn't like nice and sweet," Brad teased.

"I do sometimes!" I responded. "No, I don't know Brad. We do go pretty far sometimes. And sometimes afterwards I wonder, you know? Is this really okay? Is it really like...normal for us to do that? Sometimes it feels wrong...but...so right at the same time. I really feel torn."

"Well, how does it feel when you're in the middle of it?"

I sighed. "Amazing! It's so...animalistic and uncontrolled and...I love it. But sometimes I think about it and I feel wrong just for liking it,, but I know it's because of what other people are saying. It didn't even occur to me that it wasn't normal until people started pointing it out."

Brad shrugged. "Do what you like, don't worry about it. No one gets hurt, right?"

I nodded. "Right, no one gets hurt." I finished my beer quickly, before standing up. "I gotta get back, Gibby can only stall for so long. So we're just gonna act more removed, right?"

"Right," Brad responded. "But...you know. Anything you need to talk about, I'm here."

"I know," I responded. "Thanks Brad."

He walked me to the door. "I'll see you later," he said, and I nodded.

"Okay, bye." He opened the door for me, and then we both gasped. There was Carly, standing at the door, an angry scowl on her face.

"What's up, guys?"

~*Brad*~

I looked over at Sam, worried, then back at Carly. She looked shocked, pissed, and hurt all at the same time.

"Can I come in? Or are you guys...you know...busy?"

"Brad..." Sam trailed off, looking at me.

Oh god, how were we going to explain this? Freddie and Carly were being monstrously insecure about me and Sam doing whatever they thought we were up to, and Carly had just caught us in my apartment, all the kids asleep, just the two of us! Sam looked at me carefully, waiting for me to make a move, and when I hesitated, she grabbed Carly's arm, yanking her inside and shutting the door.

"Don't touch me!" Carly yelled.

"Carly, shush!" I hissed. "You're gonna wake up the baby! And Bryson!"

"I don't care right now!" she yelled, hands on her hips. "What...how could you guys do this to me? And Freddie! He's your best friend, Brad! How could you do this? Sam, how could you do this me? And after everything Freddie did for you? I don't even know who you are anymore!"

"Carly, it's not what you think..." I started, but she cut me off.

"I know exactly what it is, Brad! I heard you guys talking! About how animalistic is it, how it feels right, no one gets hurt?" She snapped, before pulling her phone out. "I'm calling Freddie, right now!"

Before I could do anything, Sam slapped the phone out of Carly's hand, sending it flying into the wall. "You are not calling Freddie!"

"I am going to tell Freddie! Everything! I can't believe you did this to him!" Carly yelled. Sam glared at her. I thought for sure Sam was going to hit her, but she turned and looked at me.

"Brad, tell her," she said. I shook my head slowly.

"I can't."

"Brad!" Sam yelled, pleading with me. "You have to tell her!"

"I can't do that, Sam!" I yelled back. "Forget it!"

"You have to!" I could tell she was about to cry. "If she tells Freddie what she thinks is going on, I'm going to lose him! He'll LEAVE ME! Please!"

"What I think is going on? I KNOW what's going on!" Carly yelled. "You're cheating on me with Sam!"

"I am not with Sam!" I yelled, beginning to lose it. "Why would I want Sam?"

"Okay, first of all, fuck you," Sam said, annoyed. "Secondly, I don't want Brad! We went over this LAST YEAR! I love Freddie! If you come in between that, Carly, I swear to god..." She started to advance towards her, and I came in between the two of them quickly.

"Sam, back off!" I growled, pushing her back a little. Sam glared at me for a second, trying to calm herself, before speaking again.

"Brad, you have to tell her!"

"I can't do that! I told you what happened before, and..."

"You're gonna lose her if you don't tell her, Brad!" she cried. "And I'm gonna lose Freddie! Tell her! Please!"

Carly was looking back and forth between us, alternating between confusion and anger. "Somebody better tell me something!"

God, I didn't want to do this. Once again, my parents' stupid personal life was getting in the way of MY personal life. I had swore I wasn't going to let anyone find out about this! We were in a much bigger city, so it seemed like it was actually possible this time. Sam had just stumbled across my secret by accident, but because of how Sam was, it wasn't a big deal. But I'd wanted to keep it from Carly at all costs. I was completely over a barrel, if I told her, she'd get freaked out and break up with me, but if I didn't, she'd break up with me because she thought I was cheating on her with Sam! Not only that, but Freddie would leave Sam and kill me!

"Brad, start talking," Carly said. "Now!"

I looked at Carly, then at Sam, who gave me a Look. "Brad! Stop being such a puss! Tell her the truth! She's not gonna dump you over it, but she will ruin both our lives if she keeps thinking we're sneaking around together!" Sam yelled. "Just do it!"

I opened my mouth to speak, until I heard the sound of my baby sister crying. "God," I moaned. "Great! We woke up Leah!"

"I'll take care of the baby," Sam said, walking towards Leah and Heather's room. "I need the practice anyway. Tell her the truth, now!"

Carly stared at me. "I'm really confused right now, but still really angry! Why does Sam know something I don't? Why was she here in your apartment with you? Why do you guys have so many inside jokes? And text each other all the time? I know something's going on!"

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Carly, nothing's going on between Sam and I. Okay, first of all, Sam is my FRIEND. That's it! And if you really want to know why we're texting each other all the time, it's usually over you or Freddie. It's easier to keep tabs on you two when we work together. Look!" I pulled my phone out of my pocket, handing it to her. "There! There's the entire queue of the messages between Sam and I! Look for yourself!"

She took my phone, glaring at me, and then began to scroll through the messages, one right after another. After a few moments, she looked up at me. "You could have deleted some of them."

"Jesus, Carly!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in frustration. I walked to Leah and Heather's room, opening the door. "Sam, gimme your phone!" I jumped out of the way as she fired the phone right at my stomach, glaring at her. "Very nice."

"Go fill this up," she said, tossing Leah's bottle at me, bouncing my eight month old baby sister up and down on her hip.

"Ugh, fine!" I said. I walked back out, showing Sam's phone to Carly. "Now read hers. You think we deleted all the same messages? Oh look, here's a really dirty one from me to her. It says 'Taking Carly out tonight, damn I love her' Wow, I'm SUCH an asshole! Read the rest, Carly!" I handed her the phone and walked away to pull the milk out of the fridge, filling the bottle up before walking back to Leah and Heather's room and handing the bottle to Sam.

I turned around to look at Carly, who was still reading Sam's messages. Satisfied, she finally looked up. "Okay, so why were you together, here, tonight?"

"Talking about you and Freddie! You guys have seriously lost your shit!" I yelled. "I can't be friends with your best friend? I can't be friends with my best friend's wife? It doesn't make sense!"

"Then what was all that stuff I heard through the door? About nobody gets hurt and it feels right?" Carly asked "How do you explain that?"

"We were talking about Sam and Freddie!" I said. "Sam's been thinking she's screwed in the head ever since SOMEBODY had to tell her how weird her sex life was! And...well...she talks to me about it because I get it, alright?"

Carly gave me a horrified look. "What do you mean you get it? Are you into that shit too? Oh my god!"

I rolled my eyes, huffing. "No, Carly, I'm not. But I've had to deal with it pretty much my entire life." She looked confused, and I continued. "Look, I didn't want to tell you this. I've been trying to keep it a secret since I moved here, because the last time this got out...I got mocked all the time, my girlfriend broke up with me...we were together two years, Nicole finds out, and then BAM! I'm dumped. Heather's friends found out, they started making her life a living hell at her school, and it just got out all over Tacoma, so we moved here, my dad transferred to Seattle PD. Of course it didn't change anything with them, they don't care how it effects us..."

"Brad, you're rambling," Carly stated. She'd managed to calm down and now seemed concerned rather than angry.

I took a deep breath. "My parents are...they're swingers. Not just swingers, but they're into like...hardcore S&M. They do stuff that makes what Sam and Freddie do seem like nothing! Didn't you ever wonder why we have a four bedroom apartment, but I share a room with Bryson and Heather shares a room with the baby?"

"Well...yeah, but..." Carly trailed off. "What does that have to do with..." she trailed off as I grabbed her arm suddenly, pulling her towards what Heather and I called "The Room". I fished my wallet out of my pocket, grabbing my driver's license and shoving it between the door frame and the door, forcing it open, before flicking on the light. "You see? You see what I have to put up? And these are my fucking PARENTS, Carly!"

Carly's eyes widened as she took stock of what was in the room, a mish-mash of s&m furniture and toys, and the fact that there was soundproof foam on the walls. I let her get a quick look before I shut the light off and then slammed the door shut. "Do you get it now? Sam found out on accident! Freddie sent her down here two weeks ago to get a flash drive, I told her to look in my room, and she went in the wrong room! God, the ONE DAY I have someone in the apartment, they leave the room unlocked!"

"So your last girlfriend broke up with you when she found out about it? That's why you didn't tell me? Because you thought I would do the same?" Carly asked.

"Yeah! It's embarrassing, Carly! I didn't tell anybody! I wouldn't have told Sam if she hadn't found out on accident! Ever since then, she and I have been talking about this stuff, because she thinks she's weird and I can see it from an outside perspective. That's the only thing that's going on, I SWEAR TO GOD!"

Carly was silent for a moment, and I was beginning to think she would turn around and dump me. Sam and Freddie freaked her out, imagine how she would feel about this!

"So that's why you don't bat an eye when all this Sam and Freddie stuff comes up."

"No, I don't care! I've seen a LOT worse! Spending the night at a friend's house and then coming home early and walking in on one of their stupid swinger parties," I flopped down on the couch. "Do you have any idea what that's like, Carly? This shit already ruined my life in Tacoma, I didn't want it happening again. I mean, fuck! Nicole and I were together for a long time, I loved her, and she broke my heart. But the way I felt about Nicole doesn't hold a candle to the way I feel about you! I didn't want to scare you off!"

"Your parents seem so normal though," she commented. "I mean, your dad..."

"They're not bad people, they're just really, really, really different."

"But you're not like...into that?"

I shook my head fervently. "Hell no. I'm not into that shit at all. I like it slow and romantic and all that stuff guys aren't supposed to like. I don't know what else to tell you, Carly! I'm sorry you thought something was going on, but...Sam and I are friends, that's it!" I said. "She's not into me and I'm not into her. We're not each other's type. We wouldn't mesh at all."

Carly sat down next to me, her hand on my knee, silent. "Freddie doesn't know about any of this stuff, does he?"

"Nope. Like I said, Sam found it by accident. That's the only reason she knows. Why?"

Carly shook her head, staring at the floor. "Wow, Freddie and I were SO off."

"Yeah, you think?" I snapped. "I can't even believe you would think Sam and I would do that to you and Freddie."

"I'm...sorry?" Carly said weakly. "But, Brad. You have to admit, this all seemed so weird to me and Freddie! You guys having your little inside jokes, texting each other all the time, and then Sam sneaking off to go see you in your apartment, alone. It looked really suspicious."

"Yeah, I know. And we were talking about that, tonight! We knew it was making you guys jealous, that's why I asked her to come over, so we could talk about what to do about it!"

"I'm really sorry, Brad," Carly said. "But I'm not gonna break up with you because of something your PARENTS do. That has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry, I freaked out, I just didn't wanna lose you. I love you." She leaned forward and kissed me.

"I love you too, Carly," I responded. "I think you need to go talk to Sam though. She deserves an apology too. A big one. You could have really messed things up for her permanently. She'd probably kill herself if Freddie left her or something."

"Yeah, you're right, I do..." Carly stood up, and leaned down to kiss me again. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Fine, but if you guys freak Leah out it's your responsibility to deal with it. I put her to bed once, I'm not doing it again."

She mock-saluted me, then went to Leah and Heather's room, opening the door and disappearing inside.

~*Sam*~

Brad's little sister sure was a cute little thing, I noted as I rocked her back and forth, sitting on Heather's bed. Babies were fun. I'd never really liked kids, but then everything began happening with Freddie, and I'd started thinking about having kids of my own. Freddie's kids. But the way things were going, with he and Carly getting so suspicious, and then Carly catching us in the apartment together...I had a sinking feeling that would never happen. There's no way Freddie would stay with me if he thought I was cheating on him with his best friend. The whole idea was ridiculous. Brad was an alright looking guy, I supposed, but I much preferred dark haired, more built guys. Like Freddie. And Brad was too much of a sap for me, even if he did try to pretend to be an asshole sometimes. I could see right through it. That's why he and Carly were so perfect for each other, they were both romantic saps. Carly was just an idiot for thinking I would want Brad, and vice-versa, and she was going to end up ruining everything.

As if on cue, the door opened, and Carly stuck her head in. I looked up at her, quickly looking back down at the baby, trying to look busy.

"Hi," Carly said softly, shutting the door behind her. She was silent for a moment, just looking at me. "You're pretty good at that," she commented, gesturing to Leah. I shrugged.

"A lot of good it's going to do now. You're gonna go tell Freddie how you caught Brad and I together, he's gonna leave me, and then it's gonna be over with for me," I responded.

"Sam, the only thing I'm gonna tell Freddie is that we were wrong about you guys," Carly commented. I looked up at her, and she sat down next to me. "I'm really sorry. I just lost my head. I was getting jealous about how you and Brad were getting so close, and the fact that he's...more experienced than me, I thought he was getting bored with me. And then there's you...and I mean...you have plenty of experience."

"Gee, thanks," I replied, rolling my eyes. "So you thought Brad just wanted a quick lay, and I wanted...what, exactly? Anything I need I can get from Freddie. I don't want anyone else."

"I know that, Sam! I just...Freddie and I didn't know what to think...and I think Freddie's a lot more insecure than he lets on."

I snorted. "Freddie's insecure as hell. He pretends not to be, but he just thinks he's a nerd. He overcompensates with everything. Our sex life, trying to get into fights all of a sudden because he thinks that's what I want, the gym. He's gonna end up hurting himself if he doesn't cool it with the working out thing."

"He's probably scared to lose you, Sam!" Carly responded. I nodded.

"He is. He told me. And I've tried to make it clear that it's not gonna happen, but he just doesn't get it. I don't know why, I've been trying to figure it out. I think it may have something to do with his dad, but I haven't been able to get that out of him yet."

Carly shrugged. "Maybe. Okay, so...fine. Freddie and I are both really scared about the idea of losing you and Brad. You guys didn't seem to care, you both act like you have this shit on lock!"

I rolled my eyes. "Carly, I don't have anything on lock. Do you how often I have to deal with girls throwing themselves at Freddie because they want to get back at me? But I can't act like it bothers me. But I mean, do you know how bad it would be if I lost him? I don't even want to think about it...I would..." I trailed off as I tried to keep my voice from quivering. "I'd shoot myself."

"Yeah, Brad said you'd kill yourself if Freddie left you," Carly responded. "It's just really weird that you guys just have this crazy bond like you do."

"I don't know what to tell you, Carls. I mean, I owed him a lot, just because of the way his dad helped me out. I mean, he could have got in a lot of trouble for what he did! And Brad's fun. We can get in trouble together, you and Freddie just yell at me whenever I do the stuff Brad and I come up with, like the beer balloon thing. Plus, I mean...the...the ROOM?" I looked at her pointedly. "It's nice having someone to talk to about that kind of thing, besides Freddie."

"Okay, I still really don't like the idea of you talking to Brad about your sex life, but I guess I understand," Carly replied. "I'm starting to think we all know way too much about each other. WAY too much."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't mind." Carly was silent for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess I don't mind either. God, Sam, I'm sorry! I hate us fighting like this!" She hugged me carefully, trying to avoid waking Leah, who was still in my arms.

"Well, I forgive you since you haven't ruined me and Freddie yet. But just so we're clear, do I want Brad?"

"No."

"Does Brad want me?"

"No."

"Who does Brad want?"

Carly was silent, and I elbowed her.

"You, dumb ass! He wants you!"

"Alright, alright!" Carly laughed. She paused. "Dude, I know I said I was gonna stop judging people's sex lives, but that room..." she trailed off.

"It's creepy, right?" I responded. She nodded, then took on a mischievous expression.

"So it doesn't give you ideas?"

"Carly!" I scolded her. "No! Freddie and I don't do that! The handcuff thing was just an experiment, but...restraints aren't our thing. Some people like that, but it's definitely more of a mental thing for us."

"What do you mean?" Carly asked, a little confused. I sighed, trying to think of a way to explain.

"You can have control over someone's body, but the brain will do what it wants. But if you can figure out how to control their brain...everything else falls into place, effortlessly. I don't know, we're just weird."

"Yeah, a little," Carly responded. "But that's okay. I am DONE with judging you guys. Do what you want."

I nodded. "Thanks Carly."

"I really am sorry. I'm such a baby."

"No, this is a baby!" I said, bouncing Leah a little. "Isn't she adorable? I wish I could just fast forward five years so Freddie and I can have one!"

Carly grinned. "You guys really are crazy about each other, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "He's my life, Carly. There is no me without Freddie." God, that sounded SO cheesy, but it was so true.

"Speaking of which, I have to go put my phone back together," she looked at me pointedly. "And then text Freddie. I can't believe you tried to distract him with Gibby, Sam. That's lame."

"Yeah, I know. I think he needs to see what's really going on. Go ask Brad. Let's just throw everything out into the open so we can go back to being cool again. I like the idea of your man and my man being best buds. It makes things much easier."

"Yeah, I do too," Carly responded. "Okay, you wanna put Leah back to bed and come out now?"

I looked down at Leah, shaking my head. "Nope."

Carly smiled at me before walking to the door. "Okay. Have fun."

A/N: Yup, there you have it! Sam loves Freddie, Brad loves Carly, nobody's cheating, so everyone calm the hell down! LOL.


	45. Chapter 45: Tell Me What You See

**A/N: I've been like =D after reading some of the reviews! Last chapter for the night, more tomorrow of course. Super naughty lemon, bad Freddie! One more thing, I keep seeing in the reviews people mentioning reading about my story on the message boards...I've looked, and I can't find shit! Somebody link me up in a private message, please? Thanks! **

**Chapter Forty Five:  
>Tell Me What You See<strong>

~*Freddie*~

I was seconds away from punching Gibby in the face. It wasn't really his fault, he was just being Gibby, but I was just so antsy waiting to hear back from Carly to see what she had found out. When it came to nosiness and spying on people, Carly was the undisputed queen, so I knew she'd find something out. I was just hoping against hope that what she found out wasn't that Sam and Brad were involved with each other. That would absolutely break me.

"I think I found the problem, Gibby," I stated, looking up him.

"Really? What?"

I showed him the back.

"Someone took the SIM card out. Where's the card, Gibs?" I rolled my eyes as he shrugged. I was about to ask him whether or not Sam had put him up to this, but my phone beeped at me. Text message! I grabbed the phone like a lifeline. Please let it be Carly with info. It was definitely a text from Carly. I took a deep breath and let the message load.

Carly: Sam was in Brad's apt. We're idiots.

Oh, god, what did that mean? I texted her back frantically.

'Why? Why are we idiots? Stop being vague!'

I bounced my leg up and down impatiently, waiting for a return text. Beep!

Carly: They wouldn't talk so much if we calmed the hell down. And there's other stuff. But Sam is not cheating on you.

'Then why is she at Brad's? Just tell me what's going on!' I felt like my head was going to explode.

Beep!

Carly: Just get over here. It's complicated.

I stood up suddenly, grabbing by jacket. "Come on Gibby, time to go!" I said, ushering him out of the studio. "See you tomorrow!"

"What? But Carly and Sam aren't back yet!" Gibby argued.

"Yeah, I know. I gotta go do something, let's get out of here, you're not allowed in the apartment without supervision, you know that!" I said. "Just go to Tasha's or something!"

Gibby paused for a second, thinking his options over. "Okay!" he finally said. "See you tomorrow!"

I rolled my eyes before shutting Carly's apartment door. I was too anxious to wait for the elevator, so I took the stairs, going down three floors to Brad's apartment and banging on the door. It opened a moment later, revealing Carly. I brushed past her.

"Alright, someone tell me what the hell is going on!" I yelled.

"SHHHH!" Brad and Carly shushed me. "You're going to wake the baby!" they both said in a loud whisper. I rolled my eyes, exasperated.

"Where's Sam?"

"In there," Brad pointed at the girls' bedroom. "With the baby."

I was confused. "Wait a second, she came over here to take care of a baby?"

"No, Freddie!" Carly said. "She came over here to talk to Brad about us being head-cases."

"What? I'm not a head-case!" I snapped. Carly and Brad both looked at me pointedly, and I rolled my eyes. "Okay, fine. Maybe a little. But I'm still not getting it!"

"Okay, let me lay it out for you then, man," Brad said. "First of all, want a beer?"

"I thought we said no more drinking?" Carly asked him, and he shrugged.

"Whatever, it's one of those kind of nights, give me a beer," I responded. He opened the fridge and tossed me one, and I caught it effortlessly, twisting the top open. "So lay it out for me then, Brad."

"First of all...you and Carly thinking Sam and I were getting it on?" he shook his head. "Not cool, man. Sam's crazy about you, and I wouldn't do that to you, or Carly. I don't even like blondes, or bite marks." I glared at him, and he continued, undeterred. "Secondly, we talk all the time because Carly flips her shit every other day about some imagined problem, and you? You gotta cool it with that gym shit, dude. You're acting like a girl."

"What? I am not acting like a girl!" I said, offended. "How am I acting like a girl?"

"He does have a point, Freddie," Carly said. "You act like the only way you're gonna keep Sam around is by getting more and more pumped up, and that's just not true. She loves you for a lot more than the size of your biceps. Now, back to the original point."

"Thank you," Brad responded. "Point is, we talk most of time to find out what's going on with you and Carly. Sam is Carly's best friend, there's nobody better to do digging for me when I need it. And if Sam needs me to figure out shit with you, I do it."

I was still dubious. "I still don't see why she snuck over here. That's suspicious."

"Yeah she came over to talk about how retarded you guys are acting!" Brad replied. "I mean, damn, dude! You really think I would want Sam? I mean...dude...look!" He pointed at Carly. "Look at that! I have that! I don't need your wife!"

I made a face. "Wait, what the hell is wrong with my wife?"

Carly groaned. "Oh, god, really Freddie? Nothing's wrong with Sam! She's just not his type! Just like you're not mine!"

"Yeah dude, no offense or anything, just saying!" Brad responded. "Sam's cute, but...yeah. Not my thing."

I shrugged it off, we were getting off-topic again. "Okay, fine, but...I don't think you're telling me everything," I replied.

"Yeah, we'll get to that. Go see Sam," Carly replied. "She's holed up in there with Leah, living vicariously. Just be quiet, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I replied. I walked towards the girls' room, opening the door a bit and peeking my head in. Sam was sitting on Brad's sister's bed, holding the baby, just looking at her.

"Hey," I said softly. She looked up, smiling at me.

"Hi," she said. "Look, I got her to sleep. No sweat at all."

I shut the door behind me and sat down next to her. "I see that. Having fun?"

"Mmmhmm," she responded. She stared at me for a moment. "Did you talk to Brad and Carly?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I did. Well, they said something about one more thing they needed to tell me. Any ideas?"

Sam laughed lightly, looking down to make sure she hadn't disturbed Leah. "Oh, it's a doozy. But it may clear the air a bit. About...what Brad and I have talked about, besides you I mean," she paused. "He's a really good friend, you know? To both of us. And he's good for Carly. I like him. Don't screw it up, okay? Because now you have a guy friend, and Carly has a boyfriend. Now nobody's the third wheel."

I nodded. Sam had a point. It was either me and Sam, or Sam and Carly, sometimes me and Carly, but someone usually ended up getting left out of whatever was going on. Brad did kind of round things out a bit.

"If I wasn't holding a baby I would smack you," Sam said, still looking at me. "I would never, ever cheat on you. I don't want anyone else to touch me."

"I don't either," I responded. "The idea of it just drove me nuts, Sam. I'm sorry. I just let all those thoughts start getting to me..."

"Well stop it," she replied. "I...I belong to you, Freddie. No one else. I love you."

"I love you too, baby. I'm sorry," I said, kissing her.

"Careful, you'll wake Leah," she chided me playfully. I shook my head, smiling. It was really cool watching her hold that little girl, it seemed like motherhood would come pretty naturally to her.

"You're gonna be really good at this when we have one of our own. Or...four. Like you said."

She bit her bottom lip. "I hope so. My own family's so fucked up..."

"You can still fix things with Melanie," I suggested, smirking at the way she wrinkled her nose.

"She just annoys me. And I still don't really trust her, you know? Maybe she's not after you, but...something's off about her. I can't put my finger on it."

I shrugged. "Well, you'll figure it out, it's just going to take some time, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said slowly.

"Okay, Sam, put down the baby. I gotta find out what else is going on," I laughed a bit as she made a pouty face.

"I don't want to. She's so cute..."

"I know, baby," I kissed her on forehead. "I'm sure Brad would be more than willing to let you take care of her though when he has to babysit."

She nodded, thinking for a moment. "Okay, give me a second." I watched as she stood up slowly, before walking Leah over to the crib and laying her down gently, placing the blanket around her carefully. Man, that was something else watching her take care of a child. I liked it. A lot. She finished with the baby, then turned to me. "Okay, let's go."

We both crept out of the room, and as soon as Sam shut the door silently, I grabbed her, pulling her to me, kissing her passionately.

"I love you so fucking much," I growled against her mouth. Her arms went around my neck as she kissed me back, and I couldn't stop myself from running my hands down her back to grab her perfect ass. She moaned against my mouth, grinding against me.

"Standing right here, guys!" Brad called. Oh, right. I'd forgotten there were other people in the room. I pulled away from Sam half-heartedly, not really wanting to let her go.

"So everyone's happy?" Carly asked.

"Uh-huh," Sam responded. "Finally!"

I looked at Brad, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Alright, man, what's the big secret?"

~*Sam*~

I eyed Brad carefully as he, Carly, Freddie, and I stood outside the door to "The Room", my arms crossed over my chest.

"Do it," I said.

Brad hesitated.

"Come on, Brad just show him," Carly encouraged him.

"Yeah, come on, Freddie can take it!" I said, bouncing a little.

Freddie looked worried. "Dude, nothing's gonna come out of there and attack me or anything, right?"

"Maybe..." I trailed off, raising my eyebrows and looking at the floor. Brad's parents were weird as hell, and for me to say that, well...yeah they were weird!

"What?" Freddie backed away from the door, and I grabbed his arm, laughing.

"I'm kidding! Come on, Brad, just show him!"

Brad rolled his eyes. "Fine. Hey, Freddie?"

"Yeah?" Freddie responded.

"You know how you complain about your mom sometimes?"

"Where is this going?" Freddie said, eyeing Brad suspiciously.

"Wanna trade parents?" Brad said, turning the knob and flinging the door open, flicking the light switch on.

I swear to god, I almost fell over laughing at the look on Freddie's face. He looked shocked, horrified, and very sympathetic to Brad's plight all at the same time. We all stared at him, waiting for a reaction. Carly and I couldn't stop laughing.

"Dude, say SOMETHING," Brad pressed him, before glaring at me and Carly. He didn't think it was funny, and was trying to glare us into silence, but nope, not happening. We were absolutely dying, hanging onto each other's shoulders, tears running down our faces from laughing too hard.

"So...your parents..." Freddie said slowly, trailing off. "They..."

"Uh-huh," Brad responded, a grim expression on his face.

"And so, right now, they're..."

"At a swinger party."

Freddie turned to Brad and put a hand on his shoulder. "I am so, so sorry. If you need to cry, just let it out."

Brad glared at him, swiping Freddie's hand off him. "Dude, shut up!"

Freddie started laughing. "Aw, come on, man! I'm just messing with you!" He stuck his head in the door to get a closer look. "I feel like we need an old priest and a young priest."

Brad rolled his eyes. "That is not funny."

"Oh come on, it's a little funny!" I said, elbowing him. "Lighten up, Brad! It's not a big deal, your parents are weird, welcome to the club! My mom's in prison, Freddie's mom made him wear footie pajamas til he was twelve, and Carly's dad willingly spends his entire life 20,000 leagues under the sea in a submarine! We ALL have strange parents!"

"Yeah, but this..." Brad trailed off.

"It's not important, baby!" Carly said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Is that a sawhorse?" Freddie asked in amazement. "Why would they have that in there?"

"Okay, that's it, everybody out!" Brad hollered, shooing us away from the door and closing it. "Let's all stop making fun of Brad now!"

We all walked out and I waited for Freddie to flop down on the sofa, before sitting in his lap, kissing him, then turning back to Carly and Brad.

"Well, that was beyond anything I would have ever expected," Freddie said. "But it gave me a good laugh, so thanks for that. Shit was getting way too serious around here."

"Yeah, no kidding," Brad replied. "So it doesn't freak you guys out?"

"Nah, man! We're good!" Freddie replied. "I mean, hello?" He gestured to himself and me.

"Yeah, I got that, thanks," Brad said with a roll of his eyes. "Alright, so, there's not gonna be any more shit about anybody cheating on anyone, right?"

"Right," Freddie responded.

"Carly?" I asked.

"Yeah, right. Of course," she replied. "But we need to talk about something else." She looked at me pointedly, and I nodded, getting off Freddie to sit down next to him. He looked at me, and I could tell he thought I was up to something, which of course I was.

"What are you...okay, no interventions, Jesus Christ!" he said, trying to stand up, but I caught his belt and yanked him back down.

"Sit down, nub. We gotta talk," I said firmly. "You have a problem. Or you're starting to develop one."

"I don't have a problem, and I am not talking about this with you in front of Brad and Carly!" he shot back.

"Dude! I just showed you my parents' sex room! Man up!" Brad yelled.

Freddie scowled, crossing his arms. "Fine, talk."

"First of all," I said. "I said I like built guys, not bodybuilder guys. If you keep it up, there will be a point when you'll get too beefy for my tastes, and I know you don't want that, right?"

"Well...no..." he said. "But I'm not anywhere that, Sam! And it's not like I look in the mirror and hate myself either! I do actually like working out..."

"Adrenaline junkie," Brad stated, and Freddie and I both looked at him.

"What?" Freddie asked. "What does that mean?"

"You get a rush off the adrenaline and endorphins from working out," Brad replied. "And that's cool, but not if you work out so much you can't move afterwards because you're so sore."

"Or if you can't study!" I pointed out, poking him. "You've been slipping on school, and you know it!"

"Uh, Sam..." he started to speak, then shut up after I'd glared at him. I knew exactly what he was getting at, and I was mildly offended, but brushed it off.

"I care about your grades, idiot, because I care about you!" I said, thumping him in the side of the head. "Don't try to play this off, you know you're going too far."

"So, what do you guys want me to do? Stop working out? Cuz I'm not going to do that!" Freddie said.

"No, don't stop working out, Freddie..." Carly started.

"No, for the love of god, don't stop," I said, unable to stop myself from letting my hand run over his biceps. Damn, Sam, focus! You're making the problem worse! "Just cut back! Like an hour a day?"

"Two," he responded, staring me down. I shook my head, staring right back at him, unwilling to back down.

"One," I said. "Until I'm sure you're not gonna go all Jersey Shore on me again. Besides," I responded, moving my hand to his inner thigh and squeezing, grinning at the way he jumped. "There's other ways you can get plenty of exercise."

Freddie smirked at me, his eyebrows going up. "Oh really?"

"Baby, I'll wear your ass out, and you know it." I said with a sexy smile. I watched his eyes slowly slide over to where Carly and Brad were sitting. I knew what he was expecting, and I was expecting it too.

"What's wrong, Carly?" I asked. "You're not acting grossed out like you usually do."

Carly shrugged, looking at the floor. "No, I'm not gonna say anything." Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess getting rubbed off in the backseat of a vintage Mustang really changes your perspective, huh?" Freddie said out of nowhere.

Oh, my god. My eyes widened in shock. Nobody spoke a word, and then suddenly me, Brad, and Freddie burst into laughter. Carly looked mortified.

"Aaah!" Carly said, turning beet red, her face going into her hands, laughing. "Shut up!"

"Aw, Carls!" I said, leaning over to pat her on the head. "It's okay!" I couldn't stop laughing.

"You guys are such assholes!" she cried, still laughing. She moved off her spot on the floor to sit in Brad's lap, smacking him on the chest because he was still laughing.

"You know, sometimes I'm glad you're so nosy, Carly, because all of this...wonderfulness, would never have happened tonight!" I laughed. "Everything's out in the open now, right?"

"Yeah, no kidding!" Carly said, still a little red. "But you're right. We're definitely DONE keeping secrets, right?"

"Fuck secrets, it's way more fun to just throw everything out there and laugh at each other," Freddie responded. "What time is it?"

Brad looked at his watch. "Almost midnight. My parents will still probably be out for two hours or so..."

"Geez, how long does it take to bang a bunch of random strangers?" I asked.

"Shut up!" Brad yelled, flinging a bottlecap at me. I grinned, shrugging my shoulders. "Okay, so, mas cervasa?"

"Brad, I thought we said no more drinking!" Carly said.

We all glared at her, silent.

"Okay, fine, ONE BEER!" she responded, shaking her finger at us.

"Fine by me, soon as it's gone Freddie and I have places to be," I responded.

"What? Where?" Freddie asked me, confused.

"The bedroom, nub! Jesus!" I replied, annoyed. "Brad." I snapped my fingers at him. "Make with the beer!"

~*Freddie*~

I was silent as Carly, Sam, and I waited for the elevator to get to our floor. Carly and Sam were chattering on about something, but I wasn't really paying attention.

"You're being quiet," Sam commented. "Something on your mind, or are you just buzzed?"

"A little of both," I responded truthfully. "We'll talk in a minute."

Sam looked at Carly strangely, and Carly sighed. I knew what they both were thinking. 'Really? More problems?' but I just shrugged it off.

The elevator finally arrived on our floor and we stepped off. I interlaced Sam's fingers with mine as we walked down the hallway.

"Goodnight, guys!" Carly said as she began unlocking her door. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Sam let go of my hand to give Carly a hug. "Love ya, Carls."

Carly hugged her back. "Aw, maybe we should let Sam drink more beer," she said to me, laughing. "She's so sweet when she has a few in her. I love you too, Sam. See you guys in the morning!"

"Goodnight!" Sam and I said. I unlocked the door, and held it open for Sam. She walked in and then spun around, her arms crossed over her chest. I knew she was about to start pestering me about what was on my mind, but I wasn't in the mood for that.

"So talk," she said. "What's going-" I cut her off by bending down and picking her up, tossing her over my shoulder and carrying her to the bedroom, shutting the door before laying her down on the bed.

"Nothing," I responded with a smirk. "Just felt like catching you off-guard."

"Well that wasn't very nice," she responded with an amused smile. She got on her knees, making a 'come here' motion with her finger. "Get your ass over here."

I didn't speak, just crossed the room quickly, grabbing her by the back of her head and kissing her passionately. I had been able to joke around with Brad and Carly, but the entire time all I'd been thinking about was being in bed with Sam, our naked bodies pressed against each other, my mouth on her mouth, my hands all over her, making her moan.

I guess it was just relief that she wasn't cheating on me. Or relief that she didn't want me to get overly beefed up and risk damaging myself in the process. Or some kind of weird biological mating thing after seeing her take care of Brad's little sister the way she did. Or the fact that she cared so much about me she'd convinced her best friend's boyfriend to go all double agent on me, even risking sending the wrong impression to me and Carly in the process. I didn't know what it was, but whatever it was I was fired up as hell about it.

"God, Freddie," she sighed as I broke away from her mouth and started kissing her neck. "I love you so much."

I didn't even need to say it back, she already knew that, but of course I did anyway. I tangled my hand through her hair to pull her head back so I could lick over her throat, my other hand going to the hem of her shirt. I pulled away long enough to pull her shirt over her head, throwing it behind me, before unclasping her bra and doing the same thing.

"Um, Freddie," she said, stopping me suddenly.

"What?" I asked, pulling away. "What's wrong?"

She said nothing, just pointed up. I followed where she was pointing to see her bra hanging from the ceiling. "Oh. Oops," I said with a grin. "I'll get it down later. But for now..." I kissed her again, a little rougher this time, biting on her bottom lip a bit.

"Ooh!" she said, pulling away from me, her hand going to her lip.

"Was that too hard?" I asked worriedly. She didn't respond, but her eyes burned in a way that made me pretty sure I had. She just growled and shoved me down onto my back before straddling me and kissing me hard. Ugh, fuck yes. I held her head steady so I could keep kissing her, groaning as I felt her grind into me. I flipped her over onto her back suddenly before ripping my shirt off over my head, leaning back down to rub my chest over her. She moaned softly, enjoying the feel of our skin together, wrapping her arms around underneath my arms and gripping at my shoulders, tossing a leg over me.

I sat up to unbutton her jeans, pulling them off her perfect legs before standing up to pull my own jeans off. I looked at her laying down across our bed looking up at me, hair fanned out, arms over her head, legs slightly open, in nothing but a tiny little purple thong. I couldn't stop myself from licking my lips. If I wasn't so desperate to be inside her, I could just stand there and stare at her. She was so perfect, every bit of her. I suddenly had a thought, remembering what had happened the night of Carly's party.

"Get up," I said, extending my hand to her.

"Why?" she asked, taking my hand, and I pulled her up to her feet, before walking around behind her, grabbing her hips and grinding into her.

"Remember Carly's party?"

"Uh...yeah..." she trailed off. "Why?"

I leaned down to lick and nibble at her earlobe, my hands coming around her body to rub at her breasts. "Remember the bathroom? The mirror?" I lifted a hand to her chin, lifting her head a bit to direct her attention towards where I wanted it to go, and that was our reflection looking back at us in my dresser mirror. She didn't speak, just bit her bottom lip. "Well?"

She nodded slowly, before walking over the dresser and leaning over it, sticking her gorgeous ass out at me. She turned around to look at me, strands of hair hanging down in her face, and the look on her face was so sexy I swear I wanted to explode then and there. I walked over to her, pulling my boxers off before letting my hands go around to rub at her through her underwear. She moaned, reached her arm over and behind her head to grab at my hair, pulling me closer to her. I kept rubbing at her, and let my other hand busy itself with rubbing and massaging her breasts, making her moan.

"God, Freddie..." she said, grinding into me. "Just take them off me." I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of her thong, pulling them over her hips and letting them pool on the floor. She stepped out of them, spreading her legs a bit, and I went back to rubbing her, zeroing in on her clit instantly. She moaned, arching against me. I grabbed her chin again, forcing her to look at us in the mirror.

"Watch," I said in a low rumble into her ear, and she moaned. I kept rubbing her, not letting up as I suddenly thrust into her, making her cry out and grip the dresser. I moved in out of her slowly, almost painfully slow, struggling not to pick up the pace and slam into her. I wanted to go really, really slow, and drive her crazy. It was fun being able to make her explode within just a few minutes, but it was also fun to hold out and let it build up in her, because it made it more intense.

"Ah, Freddie..." she cried. "Don't tease me!"

"I'm not teasing you, baby," I responded, continuing to move out of her slowly, both of my hands going up to play with her beautiful breasts. She hissed, bucking against me.

"You are," she said. "This is torture..."

I laughed, licking her neck. "Nah, it's not. You want me to show you what torture is? Because you know I can."

"No," she responded, her head down. I quickly grabbed her hair, jerking her head back, and she winced. It probably did hurt her a little bit, but she didn't complain. If we were ever doing this, and one of us got uncomfortable, it only took one word to get the other one to back off. That was the rule, and we never broke it.

"Did I tell you to look away?" I said in her ear, jerking her head a little bit, not as hard as before, just enough to let her know I meant business.

"No..." she trailed off, breathing heavy. She loved when I got bossy with her, and I was going to push the boundaries a little bit tonight, just to see how bossy she liked. I still hadn't let go of her hair.

"Bad girl," I said, my free hand coming down on her ass. "Do not look away, you hear me?" I continued to thrust out of her, still slow. God, this was hard, I just wanted to bang her senseless, but it'd pay off in the end, I knew that. "I want you to see everything. Got it?"

She didn't answer, just moaned. I slammed into her suddenly, before withdrawing slowly and going back my original pace. "I asked you a question, baby," I said, kissing her neck, my hand still gripping her hair. My other hand went between her legs, rubbing her at the same pace I was moving. "I said, you got it?"

"Yeah..." she said, moaning.

I surprised her by biting her on her shoulder. Nowhere near as hard as she would bite me, I barely applied any pressure, just scraped my teeth over her, but it got her attention.

"Yeah?" I responded. "Uh, no. Let's try again." I thrust back into her hard, angling for her g-spot, right as I rubbed hard across her clit. She jerked against me, moaning loudly.

"Fuck! Freddie! Oh my god..." she moaned.

"I said, you got it?"

"Yes, yes, I got it!" she said hastily. "God, don't stop!"

"Don't look away, and I won't," I replied. Good, I had her sexy little ass right where I wanted her, in the frame of my mind to do whatever I said. It was twisted, but I didn't care, I loved playing these mind games with her. I continued rubbing her, and picked up my pace just a tiny bit, just to amp things up a bit. She was grinding against me hard, panting, moaning. I could feel her legs shaking and knew she was probably resting most of her weight on her arms, otherwise she'd just fall over. I kissed her back, her shoulders, her neck, and she whimpered.

"God, baby, this feels so, so good," she moaned. "Aaah!"

"You getting close, baby?"

"Yes!"

I kissed her back again, licking a trail up it, and she shivered. Her back was really sensitive, like her collarbone. Hmm, that reminded me. I reached up to run my fingers lightly across her collarbone, continuing to kiss on her back, rub her, and thrust in and out of her.

"Oh my god! Aaah! Freddie! Fuck! Oh, god!" she cried out, jerking against me. "Ah, Freddieeeee!" I felt her muscles clench all around me, and I groaned. Damn!

Wow, I hadn't planned on making her get off so quickly, I'd wanted to stretch it out a bit, but damn! That was a winning combination if I ever saw one. I'd have to remember that little trick of messing with her back and her collarbone at the same time, because that was almost instant! I wasn't done though.

"Did that feel good, baby?" I asked, turning her head so I could kiss her. She moaned against my mouth.

"Oh, god..." she moaned as I pulled away. "Where did THAT come from? Oh god..."

"I dunno baby, but I'm gonna remember that," I replied. "Now, what do you think you're doing? I told you to look at the mirror, didn't I?"

"But you moved my head!" she whined, moaning as I thrust into her again.

"Then you should have stopped me," I teased, licking her neck.

"You're not being fair," she said. My hand went back to rubbing her, and she jerked, trying to push my hand away, but I grabbed her wrist, putting her hand back on the dresser.

"Don't move," I replied. She was still sensitive from before, but I didn't care, she loved it and hated it at the same time, and that drove me crazy. Kind of like how we used to fight all the time when we were younger. I couldn't help but laugh to myself. There's no way in hell that the twelve year old me could have pictured this happening five years later. I brought my focus back to Sam, who was having a difficult time trying to maintain her composure.

"Fuck, Freddie!" she cried, bucking against me. She was still managing to look in the mirror, watching us intently. Good girl.

"Does watching us turn you on?" I whispered in her ear. She nodded fervently.

"I love it," she replied in a breathy voice.

"Good," I replied. "I'll have to remember that." I slammed back into her, making her cry out. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Now it was getting difficult for ME to hold back, especially whenever I started looking at us. "Shit," I growled, grinding against her. I was starting to move against her faster, even though I was trying not to. It was impossible, my body was starting to take over my brain.

Sam arched her back, and I felt her jerk against me again, thighs shaking, her mouth hanging open as she moaned over and over.

"God, Freddie..." she cried, bucking her hips. "I'm gonna...fuck...oh god...baby...baby...FREDDIE!"

I felt her shudder against me as her orgasm took hold, and within seconds I had lost my own battle, feeling myself go over the edge.

"Uhh, god...Sam! Damn!" I growled. I had to take a minute to collect myself, before withdrawing. Sam had already given up trying to support her weight with her arms and she was half laying on the dresser. I wrapped an arm under her, lifting her up before picking her up and carrying her back to the bed, collapsing next to her, pulling her into my arms and rubbing her back.

"Oh my god," she said softly, her face pressed against my neck. "Freddie...just...wow."

"Was that good, baby?" I asked, kissing her forehead. She laughed, moaning a bit.

"That was amazing. I LOVE when you get bossy like that. It's so fucking hot."

"Well then I'll just have to be bossier next time," I replied with a smirk. She looked up me, nodding, still trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah. That was so hot."

I laughed. "Okay, baby."

We were silent for a few moments, and I became aware of her hand running up and down my side. I looked at her face to see her staring at me intently.

"Baby?" she asked.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Um, you think you got one more round left in you?" she asked. My eyebrows went up. Whoa. I had really riled her up, because this didn't usually happen.

"Yeah, I think I can go again. You want to?"

"Mmmhmm. You wanna boss me around some more?" she asked, grinning at me mischievously. Damn!

"Oh, yeah...come here," I growled, kissing her.

Man, it was going to be a good, long night.


	46. Chapter 46: Etcetera

**A/N: Ugh, sorry, sorry! I get all these comments about what a great updater I am and the next day I turn around and don't post until 4:00 am, but in my defense, the power's been out for most of the day. Anyway, transitional chapter, we gotta have a few of these every now and then to keep it going in a logical fashion, but the drama will be back very soon! I'll try to get back to my usual update speed tomorrow, promise!**

**Chapter Forty Six:  
><strong>**Etcetera**

~*Freddie*~

"Sam, hurry up, we're gonna be late!" I yelled as I scrambled around the apartment looking for my science textbook.

"I'm coming!" she yelled from the bathroom. "Keep your shorts on, jesus!"

I rolled my eyes, and bent down to look under the couch. Bingo. I grabbed my textbook, going over to my backpack and shoving the book in before zipping it up. I looked at my watch, groaning. We were running late as hell. We had been up until at least three...making up over our latest fight. It was so worth it, but man, if we kept being late like this, we'd really be in trouble. I tapped my foot, annoyed.

"Sam!" I yelled. "Hurry up!" God, I didn't even have time to get my necessary dose of caffeine this morning, I was going to have to find that stupid travel mug and take it with me.

Sam stalked out of the bathroom, giving me a death glare. "I'm ready, okay?" She watched me rifling through the cabinets. "What are you looking for?"

"Travel mug," I responded, opening and closing cabinets. "Have you seen it?"

She shrugged, opening the fridge and pulling out the lunchmeat.

"Sam, we don't have time for that!" I said, making her roll her eyes.

"Look, you need coffee, I need ham!" she replied, standing next to me and leaning over the counter. I continued looking through the kitchen, frantically rifling through the cabinets.

"Oh, I think it's in here!" I said, flinging open the cabinet in front of me.

WHACK!

"Owwwww!" Sam hollered, her hand going to her eye as she doubled over in pain. "Son of a bitch!"

Oh, shit! I'd accidentally hit her in the face when I'd jerked the cabinet open. I completely abandoned the coffee idea, mortified I'd just managed to smack her in the face with a heavy cabinet door. "Aw, fuck!" I said, my hands going to her face. "Shit, I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to..."

"I know," she replied, still holding her eye. "Owww..."

I picked her up and sat her on the counter. "Move your hand, baby. Let me see." She did, and I brushed her hair off her face to get a better look. Shit!

"Is it bad?" she asked, looking at me, squinting with her left eye. It was already starting to bruise. Oh, god, I can't believe I had just done that! I'm the worst!

"Yeah..." I trailed off. "I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't mean to, it was an accident, I'm sorry..." I started rambling.

"Freddie!" she yelled, grabbing my shoulders. "Calm down! I know you didn't do it on purpose! I'm the one who's supposed to be freaking out, not you!"

"Sorry..." I said, my hands rubbing her legs. "I'm really sorry."

"Stop apologizing!" she said. "Just get me some ice, okay?"

"Okay, sorry..."

"Freddie!" She glared at me. She hated when I apologized over and over, it drove her nuts.

I opened my mouth to apologize again, but then I'd be apologizing for apologizing, and she'd probably turn around and hit me with a cabinet door. I opened the freezer door to pull out the ice tray, grabbing a cloth to wrap the ice in and pressing it to her face.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she responded. She took the ice from me and pressed it to her head with one hand, grabbing my shirt collar with the other and yanking me towards her. "Now kiss me, and then we gotta go."

I kissed her softly, my hands going to her back to pull her against me.

"Do you two ever stop?" My mom asked as she walked into the kitchen to grab her purse. We pulled away quickly, looking sheepish. She looked at Sam holding the ice to her face. "Honey, what happened?"

"Freddie's having caffeine withdrawal and needed his fix," Sam said with an amused expression on her face.

"What? Fredward! Did you do this?" My mom was horrified.

"No, no, no, calm down Marissa. He just hit me with the cabinet door. He didn't do it on purpose," Sam laughed. My mom's face relaxed and she went back her normal expression.

"Well, you two are going to be late...again!" she gave us the hairy eyeball.

"We're leaving now," Sam responded, hopping off the counter. "Freddie, get me a plastic bag for this ice."

"On it," I responded, pulling a zip top bag out of the drawer and handing it to her.

"Just so you two know, I'll be home late tonight," my mom said.

"Okay," I nodded, finally daring to pull the travel mug out of the cabinet once Sam was far away from it. I began filling it up with coffee. "Working late again?"

"No, I have a date," my mom responded. Sam and I both stopped what we were doing and stared at her.

"A date?" I asked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, honey, I am serious."

"With who?" Sam gave her a grin. "Tell me. Tell me!"

"Samantha!" my mom said, turning a bit red.

"Come on, tell me!" Sam said, poking her in the shoulder. "Tell me tell me tell me!"

"Alright, it's with Dr. Robert." I stared at my mother in shock.

"WHAT?" I yelled. The same Dr. Robert that had took care of Sam while she was in the hospital? I didn't know how I felt about this.

"Alright!" Sam said. "Go Marissa, he's hot! You know, for an old guy."

"Samantha!" my mom scolded her again. "He's not old, he's thirty seven."

"Uh, okay," Sam rolled her eyes. Sam looked at me, but I was off somewhere else. I wasn't sure how I felt about my mom dating at all, least of all Dr. Robert. He seemed nice enough, but...him? And my mom?

"Uh...Freddie?" Sam snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked. She pointed, and I looked down. Ugh. In the midst of my mini freak-out I had overfilled the coffee mug, and it had spilled all over the counter.

"I'll get the paper towels," Sam said, putting down her bag of ice and reaching across the counter.

~*Sam*~

"Two minutes to spare," Freddie said, looking down at his watch as we rushed down the hallway.

"Maybe I should get my license...because you driving this morning? Oh my god."

"It wasn't that bad!" Freddie said defensively. "I was just trying to make good time!"

"Whatever you say, Steve McQueen," I teased. We finally arrived at our lockers, where Carly and Brad were standing with Gibby, talking. Carly looked in our direction, exasperated. I guess she had a right to be, we'd been late every day this week.

"There you guys are!" Carly said. "I was wondering when – oh. Oh my god! Sam! What happened?" she asked in alarm, her hand going to my face.

"Got smacked in the face with a cabinet door," I replied, flinging my locker open and grabbing my English book. "Where's the witless wonder?"

"Melanie?" Carly asked. "Oh I dunno. She's not so bad, Sam..."

I gave her a Look. "If she's not so bad, how'd you know I was talking about her when I called her the witless wonder? I could have been talking about Gibby."

"Hey!" Gibby cried, offended. I shrugged.

"Let's just get to class, Sam," Carly replied. I turned to Freddie and gave him a kiss.

"See you in a little while."

"Okay. I'm really sorry about your face," he said pitifully, looking at the ground.

"I told you to stop apologizing, nub!" I smacked him on the arm playfully before kissing him again.

We walked to English class and plopped down. Ugh, I didn't want to be here. I really, truly hated school. Half the time I was here it was only because of Freddie constantly badgering me about my grades. I struggled to pay attention. I didn't see the need for English class year after year, it was basically common sense and memorization of facts. You learned them once, that should be enough, right? Carly and I had been sitting in class all of fifteen minutes when the office secretary popped her head in the room.

"Sam Puckett?" she asked.

"Benson!" I barked. She glared at me.

"You're wanted in the principal's office," she responded. "Get your things and hurry up."

I stood up, perplexed, and began gathering my things. I had no idea what Principal Franklin could have possibly wanted to see me about, I hadn't been in trouble since school started and besides, he liked me. I followed the secretary to the office and was surprised when I saw Freddie sitting in a chair, waiting.

"Hey," I said, plopping down next to him. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. What'd you do?" he looked at me accusingly.

"Nothing!" I responded truthfully. "I've been too busy to get into trouble!"

We sat there in silence for a moment, each of us in our minds going through all the possible things we could possibly be in here for. I couldn't think of anything. Our heads popped up as we heard the door to Principal Franklin's door open and he walked out.

"Hey, Principal Franklin!" Freddie said nonchalantly, sitting up a bit.

"Hi," I added.

"Sam, Freddie. Why don't you two get up and follow me to my office? I'd like to talk to you two about something."

"Uh, okay," I replied, standing up. Freddie did the same, and we followed Principal Franklin to his office. He turned and shut the door.

"Have a seat," he said. We both looked at each other for a second before sitting down.

"So what's going on?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah, I haven't done anything wrong in weeks!" I added.

Principal Franklin sat on his desk, looking at us stoically. He was really making me nervous.

"So, I hear you two managed to get married over the summer?"

We nodded.

"Yes, in July," I said.

"Didn't realize you two had been dating," he replied.

"Uh," Freddie laughed a bit. "We weren't. It's a complicated story, but...we just kind of dove into it...it works for us." he shrugged.

"And you're living together?"

"Yes, we are...where is this going, Principal Franklin? If you don't mind me asking?" I said.

Principal Franklin crossed his arms over his chest. "Several of the students and teachers alike have noticed both of you coming to school with bruises and marks."

I looked at Freddie in shock. People were noticing? And reporting it? Oh god, I hadn't even thought about that! How were we going to explain this to the PRINCIPAL? Principal Franklin continued.

"Now, I do realize when you first started back you were in a cast from an assault, but Sam, you've had new marks popping up a lot. Freddie too. What's going on with you too?"

"Uh, it's definitely NOT what you think..." Freddie trailed off.

"Then explain it to me. Some of the students are concerned, VERY concerned. And now Sam has a black eye!"

"Okay, first of all, the black eye was an accident, I got smacked in the face with a cabinet door this morning!" I said defensively. "And as for everything else...no offense, but it's not really your business."

"Sam." Principal Franklin gave me Look. "You know I like you guys, but this is serious. I can't stand by and watch two of my students hurting each other. I'm making it my business."

"Oh god," Freddie moaned. "Please, Principal Franklin, it's not what you think, but we really don't want to get into this with you."

"Domestic violence is a very serious matter, Freddie!"

I sighed, leaning down, my hand going into my hands.

"She had bruises on her wrists last week. Freddie, I know deep down you're a good kid, but this is unacceptable behavior."

My head snapped up, and I glared at Principal Franklin. I was beyond tactfulness. "Did it ever occur you that maybe those bruises are there for a different reason?"

Principal Franklin switched his attention to me, perplexed.

"Sam..." Freddie warned me.

"No! This is getting out of hand!" I snapped.

"But, Sam, come on, we really don't want this to..."

"Would you rather people keep calling you a wifebeater?" I said to him. I looked back at Principal Franklin. "Look, pardon my french, but I've had the shit beat out of me MY ENTIRE LIFE, and nobody did a damn thing about it! I don't care who's saying what, I'm not going to let people say this shit about Freddie!"

"Watch your language, Samantha," Principal Franklin warned me.

"Then watch your accusations!" I shot back, standing up. "You have two choices, you either let us leave right now, or the next thing I'm going to say is going to make you EXTREMELY uncomfortable!"

"Sam!" Freddie was shocked. "Chill out!"

"No!" I said. "I am SO SICK of people sticking their noses in our business!"

"You two calm down," Principal Franklin said. "Now, tell me what's really going on, because I have no choice to think that you two are hitting each other!"

I glared at him, my hands on my hips. "We're married. Married people EXPERIMENT. Get it?"

If I hadn't been so angry I would have laughed at the expression on Principal Franklin's face. He looked absolutely mortified. But I was still absolutely pissed.

Everyone was silent for a moment, then Principal Franklin stood up suddenly. "Okay, you can both go."

"Thanks," I responded. "Get up, Freddie."

Freddie was dumbstruck, moving slowly out of his chair, but managed to gain his feet and follow me out of the office. He turned around to say something to Principal Franklin, but as their eyes met, they both quickly looked at the floor.

"Uh...well...sorry for...her. She gets like that sometimes."

"You have your hands full, Freddie," Principal Franklin stated.

"Yeah, no kidding. Uh, thanks?" Freddie said. I rolled my eyes, grabbing my arm and yanking him out the door. We'd been in the office so long that the rest of the period was over, and everyone was in the halls. I scanned the hallway, trying to figure out which dumb ass had actually reported Freddie was beating me. I could understand someone thinking I was hitting him, because I did enjoy hitting people, but I wouldn't tolerate people saying that about my husband. Whoever was behind it, I was going to break their neck.

"I gotta go find Brad, I'll see you in at lunch, baby," Freddie said, kissing me. I nodded, waving as he walked away, then went back to the task of figuring out whose ass to kick.

I spotted Melanie in her cheerleading uniform, standing around talking to a bunch of guys, and rolled my eyes. She was such an attention whore, always had to be the center of attention. Not to mention an insufferable gossip. Wait. Gossip? Lightbulb!

"Melanie!" I hollered. She spun around and looked at me, before bounding over.

"What's up?" she asked. "Do you like my uniform?" She struck a pose.

"Yeah, it's...lovely," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "I need you to do something for me."

Melanie's eyes widened. I hadn't asked her for a favor since we were six.

"What do you need? Makeup advice?" she asked, but said it in a such a dumb-sounding way that I was sure she was being serious and not trying to be a bitch. How could she be so braindead and so brilliant at the same time? She was book-smart as hell, but common sense had waved bye-bye to her long ago, if she ever had it. Maybe she got the book smarts and I got the street smarts, it was possible. We were so different... I focused my attention back on the makeup comment, irritated.

"What? Screw you, I don't need makeup advice!" I snapped. "Just forget it!" I turned to walk away, and she grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Wait! What do you need, Sam?"

"You still like gossip?" I asked her, crossing my arms. She grinned.

"Are you kidding? I love it! Why? Do you need me to start a rumor?"

"No, I need you to track some gossip for me. Freddie and I just got pulled into the principal's office because people were reporting he was beating me!"

"What?" Melanie's eyes widened. "He'd never do that...would he do that?"

"No!" I hollered, making her back up a bit. "I'd kick his ass if he tried anyway!"

"True," Melanie shrugged. "So you want me to find out who's saying it?" She bounced up and down a little at the idea of a new 'project'.

"Please!" I replied. "As soon as possible!"

"Okay. Are you gonna start being nicer to me?" she asked, smiling a little bit.

"Ugh, really?" I replied.

"It would just make so happy," she said, her hands going over her heart and looking skyward. I rolled my eyes. She had to enjoy messing with me, she couldn't be THIS stupid.

"Fine! I'll try to be nice to you, okay? Just help me!"

She extended her arms to me, and I backed away, like I was looking at a poisonous snake or something. My eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?"

"Hug me," Melanie replied with a grin, doing a little dance.

"Nope, forget it!" I replied.

"Fine, then you'll never find out who's calling Freddie a wifebeater," she reminded me. Ugh, dammit! The little brat was right!

"Ugggghhhhh!" I groaned, before stepping forward and wrapping my arms around her quickly. I tried to pull away, but she wouldn't let me.

"Melanie, get off me!" I hollered, trying to squirm free. She still wouldn't let go!

"Say you love me!" she responded.

"Fuck you! I'll punch you in the head!" I yelled.

"Say you love me or I'll tickle you!" No, no, no, no! I hated being tickled.

"Fine, I love you! Now get off me!" I shoved her away. "Ew..."

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked with a grin.

"That was...painful," I replied, brushing myself off and straightening my jacket.

"Word on the street is you like it like that," Melanie said, poking me. I slapped her hand away, growling.

"I'm leaving now," I replied, turning to walk away.

"My sister loves me!" Melanie yelled out loud. "Sam Puckett Benson loves MEEEEEE!"

"Stop it!" I yelled at her. "You're gonna ruin my rep!"

She just grinned at me before turning and skipping back over to the group of guys she'd been flirting with. Ugh, ew. I felt like I needed to go shower or something. Grunting, I headed down the hallway, pissed as hell at everyone in the school other than my core group of friends. Screw trying to be nice, this was war!

~*Carly*~

"Wait a second, so your mom is going on a date tonight? With Dr. Robert?" I asked Freddie in disbelief as we sat on the front steps.

"You're starting to sound a little like a parrot, but yes. That's the situation," Freddie grunted, sounding annoyed.

I shrugged, pulling out my sandwich and unwrapping it. "Hey, where's Sam and Brad?"

"I have no idea. Sam's on the war path today though. Did she tell you about what happened in Principal Franklin's office?"

"A little. I can't believe it, that's really lame that people are doing that. I don't understand what's so interesting about you guys."

"Gee, thanks," Freddie responded, giving me a Look.

"Maybe they're jealous. Everyone else is always breaking up and then dating someone else and then breaking up, and you guys are happy," I said, trying to reassure him.

"Maybe," Freddie responded. He looked up, and nudged me. "There they are."

"Hmm, they look happy. Oddly happy," I said, making a face. In fact, they looked incredibly pleased with themselves. Brad and Sam walked over to us, Sam flopping down next to Freddie and giving him a kiss.

"Hey baby," she said with a grin.

Brad sat down next me, kissing me on the cheek and wrapping an arm around me. I eyed them both suspiciously. They were up to something again.

"What's going on? You two look way too happy."

Sam looked over at Brad, and they both shrugged.

"Oh, nothing," Brad responded. "Just got done with a little mission."

"Mission?" my eyes slid over to Freddie, and he looked over at Sam, poking her.

"What'd you do?" Freddie asked.

"Why are you asking ME?" she asked, sounding insulted.

"Because whatever you two did, it was your idea! I know you, Sam!"

"We didn't do anything!" Sam said defensively. "We were just trying to help Mr. Howard!"

Oh no. Anything involving Mr. Howard was NEVER a good sign. He was an impossible teacher, and Sam and Brad both had an intense dislike for him. It was such a relief to know for sure that Brad and Sam weren't sneaking around cheating on Freddie and I, but now we had to be on alert for whenever those two came up with crazy ideas. Brad had this mischievous streak that had been buried deep down for years after always having to be the responsible one in his family, but Sam seemed to be able to blow right past that and convince him to do just about anything.

"What do you mean, help him?" I asked.

Brad shrugged. "He's so grumpy."

"So?"

Sam reached into her bag and tossed a white bottle at Brad. He caught it, and I read the label, gasping. Oh, my god!

"Please tell me you guys didn't..."

"We just figured maybe he was grumpy because he was constipated," Sam explained with the biggest grin on her face. "We just gave his coffee a little kick, that's all."

"No math homework tonight!" Brad stated triumphantly.

"You put laxative in his coffee?" I asked, shocked. "Oh my god! You guys are SO bad!"

"Yeah, we know," Brad responded. "Come on, it's funny!"

"No it's not!" I stated. "You guys can get in a lot of trouble for this!"

"It's a little funny," Freddie offered. "But maybe a little out of line?"

Sam shrugged. "What else am I gonna do? I'm done with trying to be a good little student, Freddie. I'm not going to be nice to any teachers, screw the other students too. I just don't give a shit anymore." she paused to open her soda, and then continued. "That whole shit about getting called into the office got me thinking. I mean, all the rumors, girls throwing themselves at you, the stupid pregnancy website...which you still haven't gotten rid of! I'm done, Freddie!"

"If you get expelled, you're not going to get into college," Freddie reminded her, and Sam glared at him.

"Still on that whole college thing, huh? I'm not gonna get in, Freddie! I don't even know what I want to do in college anyway! I haven't even taken the SATs!"

"You can still take them, Sam!" I pointed out. "They're gonna be having them again next month!"

"I'm not taking the SATs, Carly! I'd just fail them anyway!"

"Sam!" Freddie scolded her. "You wouldn't fail! You're smart, you just don't apply yourself to anything except iCarly and pranking people. Why don't you just try?"

"I'm not taking that stupid test, just forget it!" Sam huffed.

Freddie stared at her for a moment, thinking. "I'll make you a deal. Take the SATs, and if you do poorly, I won't bring up the college thing again. I won't even bother you over your grades here at Ridgeway, and you can prank everyone you want!"

Sam's eyes skidded over to him. "Serious? You won't bitch at me anymore?"

"I promise! Just take them!"

"What about your mom?"

"I'll get her to back off too!" Freddie replied. Sam was silent for a moment, weighing her options.

"Fine, I'll take them, but when I fail, you have to back off, promise?"

"You have to actually make an effort, and not flunk on purpose, baby," Freddie pointed out.

"Fine, I take the SATs, make an actual effort, and if I fail, you'll stop pestering me, deal?" Sam asked, extending her hand to Freddie. He took her hand and they shook on it.

"Deal," Freddie responded, before yanking her towards him and kissing her.

"Aw, you guys are so sweet," I gushed. It was really adorable how neither one of them gave much thought to their own problems, but they would jump on each other's issues in a heartbeat to try to fix them, Freddie with the gym thing and Sam with her school problems.

"Hey, look!" Brad poked me and pointed off in the distance. It was Mr. Howard, running frantically across the lawn, practically knocking students over.

"Move!" he shouted. "Move!" Brad and Sam looked at each other, amused.

"Guess the laxatives kicked in," Brad commented.

"I like helping people," Sam said with a grin. They looked at each other, and almost simultaneously bowed to each other like samurais. I rolled my eyes.

"Why can't I have normal friends?" I grumbled.


	47. Chapter 47: Dr Robert

**A/N: Okay, I felt kinda bad for only posting one minute chapter last night, so to make up for it, here's a long one! Also, it's coupon day here at Eleanor's lemonade stand, which means, you guessed it, two lemons for the price of one! Enjoy! Going to try to crank out another chapter tonight!**

**Chapter Forty Seven:  
><strong>**Dr. Robert**

~*Carly*~

"Try spinning around a little faster," Sam said as she eyed me critically. "Like this. Move."

I watched her dart around quickly, and shook my head. "I can't do that. I'm not all little like you."

"Size has nothing to do with it, Shay. Just try it!" Sam replied.

Sam and I were in the studio, just goofing around on the pole. We hadn't really had much opportunity to play with it lately, but Brad and Freddie were busy setting up all the props and nerding out over the new camera we'd gotten for iCarly, and Sam and I had gotten bored watching them trade tech talk back and forth. I looked away from Sam to see Brad and Freddie just standing there, arms crossed, staring at us. After Sam stopped spinning, she stepped down and noticed it too.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be setting up the props for tonight," she stated, glaring at them.

"Uh, we were trying, but we kept getting distracted," Freddie said pointedly.

"You're not chasing me out of my own studio today, Freddie!" I warned him.

"I may end up chasing them out today, you never know," Brad commented. "Hey, Sam, teach Carly to flip upside down."

Sam shrugged. "Okay, come here Carly."

"No! What if I break my neck?" I responded, taking a step back.

"Come on, don't be lame!" Sam grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the pole.

"Yeah, Carly, don't be lame," Brad responded with a grin, never taking his eyes off me.

I rolled my eyes. It was great we were all getting along again, but that just made it easier for everyone to gang up and double team each other. Everyone had to be on their game now, because once you let your guard down, you were in trouble. Freddie and I could yell at Brad and Sam for being irresponsible, Sam and I could come down on the boys whenever they got out of line, Brad and I were constantly having to remind Freddie and Sam to remember there were other people in the room before they started going at it, and Brad and Freddie could just be pervs sometimes. It was fun, but like I said, guard let down, trouble. It certainly made things more interesting though.

"Alright, watch," Sam said, tearing me away from my thoughts. She held onto the pole before hopping up and locking her thighs around it, leaning back and flipping over. "See, it's easy," she said, looking up at me. I shrugged.

"I'm not convinced," I responded. Sam flipped back up and then her feet touched the floor again. She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the pole.

"Just try it," she said.

I sighed. "Okay, fine."

I grabbed the pole in the same manner Sam had, hopping up a little bit and wrapping my legs around it, leaning back awkwardly.

"Okay, now let go!" Sam said, bouncing a little. "You're good, just let go!"

"I don't wanna," I said, gripping the pole a little tighter. Sam leaned forward and grabbed my wrists. "Noooo! Let go!"

"Count of three, Carly, come on!" she said. "One, two, three!" She jerked my hands away from the pole and I leaned back until I flipped over.

"Aaaaahhh!"

"Yay!" Sam said. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

I looked at her from upside down, grinning. This was fun! I looked over at Brad and he was staring at me, eyes wide.

"Well? What do you think?" I asked him.

He was silent for a moment. "Uh, hot. Very very hot."

I grinned. It was fun getting him stirred up. I wasn't trying to be a tease, it was just a nice little ego boost. I frowned suddenly as I felt the blood rushing to my head. "Sam, how do I get back up?"

"Oh, I think you can figure that out yourself, Shay," Sam teased.

"Sam!" I cried, my hands going to the floor to steady myself. "Help me!"

Sam laughed, walking behind me to grab my shoulders, pushing me back up. "Okay, okay. There ya go."

I grabbed on the pole for dear life, letting my legs go free and then standing upright, feeling a little woozy. "Jeez. How do chicks do that all the time?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess money's a powerful motivator?"

I shook my head. "Whatever. I just like playing with it."

"Yeah, me too," Sam said with a laugh. "Freddie likes when I play with it too, dontcha baby?"

"Yeah, we're putting one of those in our apartment when we get our own place," he responded, finally growing a little bored and going back to playing with the new camera. Sam gave up too, plopping down on the desk, her legs swinging back and forth.

"So, you think your mom's having a good time on her date?" I asked Freddie as I sat down next to Sam. He groaned, his head hanging down.

"Don't," he responded. "I don't even wanna think about it."

"What's wrong, baby, don't wanna think about your mommy gettin' some?" Sam teased, kicking him lightly with her sneakered foot. He glared at her.

"Don't even joke about that, that's...ew." he shuddered a bit.

"Aw, Freddie, look on the bright side, maybe her and Dr. Robert will run into Brad's parents tonight," I teased. Brad and Freddie both glared at me and I shrunk back a bit, thinking I'd gone too far.

"Ah! That was an excellent burn, Carly!" Sam said gleefully.

Brad looked and Freddie, Freddie looked at Brad, and then they both looked at us. Uh-oh. Not good.

"Think we should run?" Sam asked me.

"Probably," I replied, hopping off the desk. "Go!" Sam hopped down too and we ran out the door, heading for the stairs. With the boys not too far behind. We were so done for!

Freddie had managed to grab Sam by her waist and started tickling her furiously, his arm locked around her shoulders so she couldn't squirm free. She was laughing hysterically and screaming and trying her hardest to get away, but he wasn't about to let that happen. Screw that, I was not going to let Brad tickle me, something told me he'd be very good at it. I scrambled down the stairs, laughing, but I stopped short when I came down into the living room. April was over again.

"Hey, Carls," Spencer greeted me.

"Hi, Carly!" April said with a wave.

Brad came running down so fast he couldn't stop and he crashed into me, quickly grabbing me by the pants loop on my belt so I didn't fall down the stairs. I smiled victoriously, he wouldn't dare tickle me in front of my brother. He might accidentally graze a boob or something and then Spence would go nuclear.

"Ooh, is this your boyfriend?" April said, looking at Brad. They still hadn't met, Brad had stayed upstairs the day Melanie and I had met her the first time, and Spencer usually managed to drag April into his room every time Brad came over, they just kept missing each other.

"Uh, yeah. This is Brad," I responded. "Brad this is April, Spencer's...what...what are you guys are you anyway?"

"Uh, she's my girlfriend, Carly," Spencer replied, looking at me like I was an idiot.

"Oh, well, nice to meet you," Brad said to April. "You gonna try and keep Spencer in line?"

April laughed, poking Spencer. "Well, I'll try. It's not an easy task."

"Carly, just letting you know, I'm gonna be gone for most of the weekend. April and I are going up to Seabrook."

"Hey, that's where Freddie took Sam," Brad commented.

"Yeah, Freddie told me to check it out. Did you know all the rooms have jacuzzi tubs?"

"Aaah!" I shrieked, covering my ears as I remembered what Sam had told me about the jacuzzi. The idea of my brother...with a girl...doing that...oh god. I shook my head, trying to clear my brain.

Everyone looked at me like I'd lost my mind. I turned around and walked to the fridge sheepishly, pulling out four cans of soda.

"Uh, there was a bug," I said lamely. "We gotta get back upstairs, show starts in twenty minutes."

"It was really nice meeting you," Brad nodded to April. "You kids have fun this weekend, try to stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, bye Spencer!" I called as I grabbed Brad's arm and jerked him up the stairs. When we got out of earshot of Spencer and April, he glared at me.

"What was THAT about?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I don't know!" I said. "It's just weird that Spencer has a girlfriend now!" Brad rolled his eyes.

"You're acting like Heather. Just let it go, okay? Spence is a grown man, he's almost thirty! Don't you want him to be happy?"

"Well, yeah, but...the idea of him...with a girl...doing that?"

"What do you expect, Carly? That they just play checkers and have sing-alongs? You think Spencer would be comfortable with the idea of our little grindfests in the backseat of my car every other night? Probably not, but it's your life, he's backed off for the most part."

"Yeah, but he'll freak out when we start having sex," I pointed out. I watched a smirk curl up at the corners of Brad's mouth, and I rolled my eyes.

"When, huh?" he teased me, poking me in the ribs.

"Shut up!" I laughed. "Come on, we gotta go, it's almost time to start the show." He nodded, taking two of the soda cans out of my hands and following me to the studio. He pulled the door open, and we walked in. I gasped, nearly dropping the cans of soda out of my hand.

"You guys!" I scolded Sam and Freddie. Sam was laying on the desk, one leg hanging down and the other wrapped around Freddie, who was leaning over her. Sam had her head laid back and Freddie had his mouth attached to her neck. Oh god, his hand was down her jeans! I looked away awkwardly. Luckily they still had their clothes on, but if Brad and I had put off walking in by two minutes, there was no telling! They both sat up quickly, looking guilty. Freddie's shirt was completely unbuttoned and Sam's pants were unzipped.

"Sorry," Sam said breathlessly, trying to fix her hair. "Is it time to start the show?"

"Do you guys EVER stop?" I asked, hands on my hips. God, this was getting ridiculous, I was now SURROUNDED by people having sex! Everyone except me! I certainly wasn't ready to go all the way with Brad yet, but I was getting very curious, and more willing to experiment. I looked over at him. He hadn't even bothered to chide Sam and Freddie, I guess either he didn't care or he'd realized by now it was pointless.

Hmm. Spencer would be gone for the weekend, I thought. Maybe we wouldn't have to resort to making out in his backseat tonight, and maybe, just maybe, I'd be game for a little more than making out.

~*Sam*~

"...and we're just about out of time, but don't forget, the first annual iCarly sausage eating competition will be underway next week! So if you live in Seattle area and think you can out-eat Sam, just send us an email!" Carly said.

"Don't get your hopes up though, nobody can out-eat me!" I responded.

"Yeah, Sam really likes sausage. I mean, she REALLY likes sausage," Carly quipped with a sly grin at me. I gave her a death glare and she continued on, undeterred. "So until next week, always check your closet for monsters..."

"...and appease them with animal crackers. And never stop watching iCarly!" I yelled, bouncing up and down.

"Thanks for watching! Bye!" Carly waved at the camera.

"Annnnnd...we're clear," Freddie said, putting the camera down. "Man, I love this camera, did you see how clear the shot was?" he asked Brad. Brad nodded, picking the camera back up and fiddling with it.

"So what now?" he asked, looking at all of us.

"Uh..." I trailed off, staring at Freddie. I was still fired up from the incident right before the show. It had started out with Freddie tickling me furiously, but then he ended up groping me instead. The rest was a blur, somehow we ended up on top of the desk, until Brad and Carly had walked in on us. Freddie still had two buttons open on his shirt. I just wanted to rip it off the rest of the way and run my tongue all over him. "We have plans..." I looked at Freddie pointedly. His mom was probably still on her date, and that meant we didn't have to worry about keeping quiet. It was almost laughable what our idea of "quiet" was, but if we didn't try to tone it down a little we could probably break the sound barrier.

"Yeah, plans. Major plans."

"Oh, well, we have plans too," Carly responded, looking at Brad, who just looked at her quizzically.

"We do?" Carly gave him a Look, and his eyebrows went up. "Oh! We do! Yeah, plans."

Everyone kind of looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. We all knew what "plans" meant. Carly cleared her throat.

"So, maybe, tomorrow night, we could go back to Quisp."

Ooh, that place had some good memories. It was the night that Carly and Brad's interest in each other became apparent, and of course, that had been what I considered the start of me and Freddie's...games.

"Hell yea, I'm down!" I said. "Baby?" I looked at Freddie, and he shrugged.

"Sure, I'm game!"

"Brad?" Carly looked at him, and he groaned, looking down at the floor.

"I can't," he responded. "I have to babysit."

"Ugh, really?" I asked. "Can't they find someone else? And I mean, four times a week? That's ridiculous." The idea of sleeping with anyone other Freddie just once in my life would be too much for me, I couldn't understand the idea of two married people wanting to sleep with other people AND stay together. Yeah, I was open-minded, but not that much. That just crossed a line to me. Of course, most guys weren't Freddie. There was nobody like him. I felt lucky every single day I woke up and saw him laying next to me. What had I possibly done in my life to deserve that boy? I pulled myself away from my sappy thoughts to focus on the issue at hand.

"No, they won't," Brad said pitifully, sighing. "I'm sorry, guys."

"Nope!" I said. "We're not abandoning this plan. We can just find another sitter for the kids, and then you can get back before they do!"

"But Bryson and Heather will just rat me out! And who will we find to babysit?"

"You can bribe kids, Brad! Don't be so naïve." I responded. "Well, we could get...hmm."

"Melanie?" Carly suggested, but I just waved her off.

"Would you honestly trust her with a baby?" I asked her, and she shook her head.

"You're right. Hey, we could get Tasha to do it! Just give her a bunch of those random giftcards of yours!" Carly said. We both looked at Brad, who looked like he was considering it carefully. Sure, something about Tasha was off, after all she was dating Gibby, but she was older than us, a freshman in college, and appeared to have it together, other than her poor choice in men.

"Okay," Brad finally said. "That'll work. Better than your crazy sister."

I swear the god, the next thought that went through my brain...I wanted to slap myself! I almost defended that little twit. I was right on the tip of my tongue, but I literally bit it to keep myself from saying it out loud. I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't. I must be losing my mind. I looked over at Freddie, who was leaning over his laptop, fiddling with something.

Okay, take time to take my man back home and let him get my head back on straight, because I was obviously losing it.

"Freddie," I stated, my hands on my hips. He didn't look up, he must have been really into whatever he was doing. "Freddie!"

He looked up suddenly. "Sorry. What's up?"

"Shut that thing down. You've got work to do, boy."

He stared at me, and I raised my eyebrows pointedly. He instantly turned the laptop off, tucking it under his arm. "Okay, I'm good. Let's go."

I turned to Carly. "Bye Carls, have fun!" I wiggled my eyebrows at her mischievously, and she blushed a little.

"Um, I will."

I patted her on the head. "Oh, I know you will. See you tomorrow!" I walked past Brad, poking him in the side. "Take it easy on her, dude."

"SAM!" Carly cried out. I just grinned at her.

"Bye guys. Don't have too much fun!" I called, shutting the door behind me.

"What's got you so fired up?" Freddie asked me as he took my hand in his.

"Uh, you." I said, reaching behind him to smack him on the ass. "Let's go. I'm horny as hell."

He turned to look at me, grinning. "Oh, really? Did I get you all worked up on top of the desk or something?"

"Uh, duh! Now you gotta take me across the hall so you can finish the job!"

"No problem there," he replied as we walked down the steps. I gave him a sly look.

"I'll race you. First one there gets oral," I said, poking him, and his eyes grew big.

"Shit. Hell yeah!" He jumped down the three remaining stairs, zooming across the living room and out the door. Oh, that little fucker!

"We didn't say go yet! Asshole!" I yelled, running after him. I slammed Carly's door shut and ran across the hall, our apartment door was still standing wide open, and I ran in, but as soon I got inside, I felt Freddie's arm catch my waist and yank me back, my back up against his chest.

"I win," he said lowly in my ear. Okay, technically he cheated, but it didn't change the fact that whenever he talked to me like that, in that low sexy voice mere centimeters from my ear, it turned me on so much I'd pretty much do whatever he said.

"Is your mom here?" I said breathlessly as he kissed my neck.

Freddie pulled away for a second, walking to Marissa's bedroom door and pressing his ear against it, listening for a moment. "Nope," he responded, turning around to look at me. "Pay up, baby."

"You cheated," I responded, shaking my head. He just looked at me and wordlessly unbuttoned his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders and letting it fall to the ground. Oh, damn. I loved the way he looked in nothing but those jeans, and he knew it. Fuck it, now I wanted my mouth all over him.

He continued to stare at me, like he was undressing me with his eyes. It drove me crazy when he looked at me like that. All I could think about was that all kind of dirty thoughts were running through his head about things he wanted to do to me.

"Well?" he responded.

I bit my lip, still looking at his gorgeous body. "Go sit down," I replied, gesturing to the couch. He did, and I walked over him, before pulling off my own shirt and unhooking my bra. It wasn't really necessary for this, but it did get him going, which was NEVER a bad thing. I sat down in his lap, straddling him, sighing at how good it felt when our bare skin pressed against each other. My hands went to the back of his head and I raked my fingers through his hair, my lips coming down over his and kissing him passionately. He growled, his hands going to my hips and grinding me against him. I pulled my mouth away from his so I could kiss and lick all over his neck. Oddly I wasn't in a bite-y mood today. I was starting to think me leaving bite marks all over him was like ruining a priceless work of art. Of course, if he liked it I'd continue doing it, but I wondered if I cooled off a bit if he'd start asking me to do it. That'd be hot.

Freddie groaned as my mouth went lower, his head hanging back, and I scooted back on his lap a little bit so I could kiss all over his chest. Lower still I went, reaching his ribs and then his gorgeous abs. Ugh, he was just so hot it hurt to look at him sometimes. I couldn't go any lower sitting in his lap, so I stood up before dropping to my knees, grabbing his hips and scooting him forward a bit. My hand went to the button on his jeans and then his zipper, before working my way inside his boxers and pulling out his manhood.

"Hmm, someone's already excited," I noted, before licking from the base to the tip. He gasped, jerking a bit.

"God, Sam..." he moaned. "That feels good."

I reversed the direction, before taking all of him into my mouth, bobbing up and down, enjoying the way his hands tangled through my hair. If he ever tried to push my head down I would smack the hell out of him, but the boy had been smart enough not to try it yet. I moved as slow as I could, just to tease him. Getting back at him for the whole "mirror incident". It drove me crazy, him being all dominant, I'll have to admit it, but I had to keep him in check. I couldn't let him think he always had the upper hand, could I?

"Sam..." he groaned. "You're making me crazy!"

I ignored him, continuing to go slow, one hand reaching up to rub his abs and chest. He grabbed my hand, kissing and nibbling on my fingers. Ugh, how could something so small be such a turn on? It was crazy the things he did to me.

I picked up my speed a little bit and tightened my grip on him a little, making him jerk his hips up and moan. If I wasn't busy with my mouth I'd be taunting him at this point, teasing him about his body's involuntary reactions to what I was doing to him. Of course, I loved it, I loved being able to drive him crazy. It got me so worked up knowing he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

"Jesus, baby..." he grunted. "This feels so good...god...I love your mouth..."

I picked up my pace even more, swirling my tongue around the tip and pumping him up and down with my hand. He was breathing heavily, gripping my hair, trying hard to not just start thrusting into my mouth. I could tell a few more moments of this, and he'd be done. I was surprised when he grabbed my forearms suddenly and pulled me back up. I looked at him quizzically.

"Not yet," he said. "I haven't even gotten started with you." He pushed my hair off my shoulders and attached his mouth to my neck, his hands going to my lower back.

"Bedroom?" I asked breathlessly as his mouth traveled lower, his tongue dancing over my collarbone.

"No time," he responded, his arms going under my knees to hold me and standing up, before laying me down on the couch and coming over top of me. He unbuttoned my jeans, yanking them and my boyshorts off me, before getting rid of his own jeans and boxers. I moaned as he laid on top of me. I loved, loved, LOVED the feel of our bodies pressed up against each other. His skin felt so hot, and I loved the weight of him against me. He rubbed against me, sliding over me, and I moaned softly. He didn't even have to be inside me to drive me crazy, it was insane!

He kissed me intensely before kissing over my jaw, then my neck. Another lick across my collarbone then I felt his mouth cover one breast and I cried out, arching into him. I ground my hips into his, and he grabbed my leg, pulling it against him. One of my hands went to the back of his head as the other gripped the couch behind me. We continued to grind against each other, it was so hot, teasing each other like this. I was really turned on, I could tell, everything was really slippery down there. I gasped suddenly, my head going back, as I felt him slide into me suddenly.

"Shit," he groaned against my skin. I could tell by the way all his muscles tensed up that he hadn't done that on purpose. We were both just so worked up, pardon the pun, but things just...slid into place.

"God, Freddie..." I moaned. "You feel so good...fuck...I love you so much..."

He pulled his mouth away from my chest to kiss me passionately. "I love you too," he murmured against my mouth, thrusting in and out of me. God, this was so hot, but what if Marissa walked in us like this, her son and daughter-in-law, completely naked going at it on her couch like wild animals? I couldn't focus on it too long, Freddie felt so good, it was hard to concentrate on anything except him!

I wrapped both my legs around him so I could pull him deeper in to me, and he groaned, moving his hips in a circular motion that drove me crazy. I wrapped my arms around him, and he buried his face in my neck, panting. I loved the feel of his hot breath on me. It drove me absolutely crazy. God, I loved this!

"Oh...god...baby...uhh...I..." I trailed off, feeling dizzy, my legs shaking, as my back arched and I started to tremble uncontrollably. "Oh...Freddie..."

"God, baby, just let go, please...I wanna feel it," he groaned against my neck, working his hips faster. I could tell he was right there at the edge with me. This was going to be very intense, it always was when we went at the same time.

I let my head fall back onto the couch as my eyes rolled back into my head, moaning. Oh god...this felt so good. I couldn't hold on any longer. I moved my hips against him frantically, jerking and spasming, and then I went stiff as I felt that wonderful, familiar explosion take over my body.

"God...Freddie!" I cried out, burying my face in his shoulder. "Aah!"

I was still climaxing went I felt him move against me frantically and then go still, feeling him pulse inside me. God that was hot! He practically growled as he exploded.

"Ah, Sam...baby...aah..." he moaned against my neck, shaking.

We laid there for a moment, both of us trying to catch our breath, and I trailed my nails lightly up and down his back, making him shiver. A moment later, I felt him kissing my neck before lifting his head to cover my mouth with his, kissing me softly, still breathing heavily. He pulled away, laying his head down back in that spot he loved so much, where my neck met my shoulder, and I played with his hair a bit. We didn't talk. There really wasn't any need to. We must have laid like that for ten minutes, completely silent, until he sat up, groaning a bit. I could tell he didn't really want to get up, but he didn't want Marissa walking in on us naked in the throes of our post-coital afterglow either. He stood up to pull his jeans on, handing me my clothes. I shook my head, standing up.

"I'm gonna go put on my sweats, can I wear that sweatshirt of yours? The gray one?"

"Sure, baby," he responded, pulling me to him to kiss me.

"Okay. I'll be right back," I said, turning, but then stopped and looked back at him. "Keep your shirt off."

"Sure thing, baby," he said, before sitting back down on the couch. We were both thinking the same thing...snuggle time! I was perfectly content to spend the rest of the night laying on the couch watching movies with him, and the cool thing was, he was too. It was perfect.

~*Carly*~

This was probably a bad idea.

Brad and I were alone together, in my apartment, in my bed. We'd started out standing up, kissing, then sitting on the bed, kissing, and now we were laying on our sides, still kissing, my leg thrown over him, his arms wrapped around me, pressing me against him. I loved this. It felt so good, his lips on my lips. He had one hand in my hair and the other hand at my lower back, under my shirt, tracing small circles on my back with his fingertips. He had this way with his mouth that made me forget about everything in the world except him, he was such a good kisser. It was soft and urgent all at the same time. When I'd kissed other guys it had been so clumsy, our mouths knocking together, sometimes my teeth would bump against my lip and it would hurt. But Brad was just so smooth. His tongue glided across mine effortlessly. I'd heard all kinds of stories about guys not being satisfied with just kissing and always trying to push things further along, but not Brad. He seemed to genuinely enjoy just the feel of his mouth against mine, holding me, playing with my hair, small parts of my skin. This was why I felt so comfortable with him, he never pushed anything further than I wanted it to go.

The other night in his car had been nothing short of incredible, and I knew if I had tried to stop him, if I didn't really want him to do what he did, he would have stopped, and we would have gone right back to kissing, and it would have been fine. That was just how he was. Sam and Freddie seemed to have this unquenchable desire to possess all of each other, but Brad and I were different, we were satisfied with what we had in the moment, and didn't worry about everything else.

Still, I was getting curious. Very curious. I'd gotten a little taste of what it was really like, and I wanted more. I gripped Brad's shoulders tightly, and rolled onto my back, trying to take him with me. He got the hint, laying on top of me. What other hints could he take? I moved my mouth away from his and leaned my head back. Hmm, he was really good at reading my signals, because a second later he because kissing up and down my neck, his tongue running over my skin. I sighed, lifting my hips a bit to press against his, and he groaned, his mouth going lower.

God, the first time he did this I started feeling panicky, but not this time. I was waiting for him to go even further. How could I get him to do that? I decided to reach for the hem of his shirt, pulling it up slightly, my hands going underneath to run over his skin. Wow, he had really nice skin, it was so soft, softer than I'd expect a guy's skin to be. I could feel all his wiry, slender muscles rippling underneath, and it was really sexy. I moved his shirt up higher, until it hit his armpits, and he lifted his head to look at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a slight smile on his face. Uh, okay, what now?

"Take...take it off," I said shyly. "I...wanna what you look like."

He smiled again, before kissing my lips softly. "Okay, babe." He pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor next to him. I placed a hand on his chest, wanting to swoon a bit as I felt his heartbeat thumping underneath my hand, and pushed a little, hoping he'd get the hint. He did, and sat up a bit so I could see him shirtless, straddling me.

Oh, god. Brad was pretty thin, but he had amazing definition in his abs. It looked like there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. Before I could stop myself, I ran both of my hands up his body, starting at the waistband of his jeans and moving upward. Oh, my god. He was so gorgeous. He groaned a bit as my hands wandered over his body, and then came back down over me, kissing me, a bit more passionately this time. Ugh, that felt good. He started kissing my neck again, and his hands gripped my hips, grinding me against him a little. He was VERY excited now, I could feel it. And I liked it. I wanted more.

I pushed at his chest a little again, and he sat up, looking perplexed, then his eyes followed my hands as I reached down to the hem of my own shirt and pulled it over my head.

"Carly..." he said, trailing off as he took in the sight of me laying underneath him in just my bra and pants. I held my arms up to him.

"Come here," I said simply. I wanted to feel his bare skin against mine, and I wanted to feel it NOW. He laid back down and oh god, it was so nice! He felt so warm and his skin was so soft...the way it felt pressed against mine...oh my god. My hand went to the back of his head and I pulled his mouth back down to mine, kissing him intently. I couldn't stop myself from wrapping a leg around his back, he just felt so good, I couldn't get enough of him!

That's when I felt one of his hands trail up my side before cupping my breast gently, massaging it, squeezing it just a bit. I moaned against his mouth. I never wanted this to stop.

"God, Carly..." he muttered against my mouth. "I love the way you feel."

Why was he so damn sweet and perfect? This was AMAZING. I was so glad I hadn't done this with anyone else, I knew it would have been awkward and clumsy, but Brad was just so GOOD at this. I wanted him to touch my bare skin again and make me feel what I felt in his backseat. I gasped as he began kissing down over my neck to the exposed skin of my chest, as much as he could that wasn't blocked my bra. I wondered if I should take it off, but I didn't want to rush too fast, even though it was SO hard. He skipped over my bra and kissed lower, over my ribs and my stomach. I couldn't stop my back from arching. I was losing control over my body again, and I was fine with it. I reached down to let my fingers tangle through his dark blonde hair, and he kept kissing all over my stomach and my ribcage, even my hipbones. Wow, those were sensitive!

"Oh my god...this feels so good..." I whispered. He started kissing a trail back up my body and my skin felt a little chilled in the spots he had dragged his tongue across, but in a good way. He brought his mouth over mine again, kissing me so sweetly. I felt his fingertips on the underside of my bra, right at the wire, and I knew if he moved them just a little bit he'd be underneath it, touching my unencumbered breasts. God, I wanted him to, so damn bad. He pulled away and just stared at me, waiting to see whether or not I'd tell him to stop. It was almost funny, he'd had his hand down my pants just a few days ago and now he wanted to make sure it was okay to touch my boobs. I pulled his head back down to kiss me, and a few moments later I felt his hand go under my bra. Oh, god! I gasped a little, before moaning against his mouth and that only seemed to encourage him, squeezing a little, grinding into me. Where had this boy been all my life?

I almost jumped out of my skin as I felt his fingers close over my nipple. It sent a bolt of electricity right down between my legs.

"Ah!" I yelped. "Brad!"

"Too hard?" he asked, lifting his head. I shook my head fervently.

"God, no..." I breathed. "...don't...don't stop, okay?"

He nodded, kissing me again. Almost without realizing it, my other leg went around his waist. He groaned, jerking a bit, pulling away.

"Carly," he said, sounding a little desperate. "I gotta stop." His hands went to my legs, unwrapping them from around his waist, and he sat up, breathing heavily.

"What?" I asked, propping up on my elbows a bit. "Why?"

"I don't want to get carried away," he replied. "I gotta stop."

"But..." I trailed off, biting my bottom lip. Okay, I WASN'T ready to go all the way with him. But I didn't want to stop, and I knew there were other things we could be doing that didn't require us having sex yet. I loved Brad, I didn't want to get him all riled up and leave him high and dry.

He was still staring at me, but he had this look on his face like he was barely hanging on to what little control he had. I'll be honest, I liked that expression, because he was looking at ME. He was having a hard time controlling himself because of me. That felt good.

I sat up, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him back down to me, my lips crashing on his. He groaned pitifully, tearing his mouth away.

"Carly, I'm serious..." he whined, sitting up again, but then he stopped when my hands went for his belt. "What are you doing?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," I responded truthfully. "But I don't want you to get all worked up and not be able to do anything about it, that's not fair."

"But, babe, you're not ready..."

"I know that. I wasn't talking about that. Just lay down, okay? Let me know if I'm doing something wrong, or...you know..." I said, looking up at him. He stared at me for a moment before acquiescing and laying back. I rolled on my side and kissed him, rubbing my hand up and down his chest. God, he felt good. I went back to the task of unbuckling his belt, before unbuttoning his jeans and unzipping them. I took a deep breath. Here we go, uncharted territory. I sat up, crawling between his legs. He was just watching me, breathing heavily. My eyes flicked up to his one time before going back down and reaching inside his boxers. Oh wow. I'd felt it before, through his jeans, but not like this...it was smooth and velvety and hard as steel...and big. I pulled his manhood through the opening of his boxers, and my jaw dropped. Wow. So that's what it looked like. My eyes went back up to his. He had such a serious expression on his face, but it was so sexy. He sat up a bit, reaching for me and pulled me back down, next to him, kissing me.

"What are you doing?" I asked between kisses.

"I don't want you to just stare at it," he said with a laugh. "It makes me kinda uncomfortable."

"Oh, sorry," I said simply. I kissed him for a few moments before running my hand back down his chest and wrapping my hand around him. He jerked suddenly, groaning.

"God..." he groaned. Tentatively I ran a fingertip down the underside, and he sucked in a deep breath.

"Is this okay?" I whispered, before kissing his neck.

"Yeah," he responded, panting. "Yeah." I decided to go a little further, wrapping my hand around him and moving up and down slowly, pleased when it made him moan. I definitely liked the effect I was having on him. I gripped him a little bit harder, working my hand a bit faster, and he started moving his hips up and down. It was so, so hot watching him. I went back to kissing his neck, continuing to pump him up and down.

"God, Carly...oh man..." he was really having trouble controlling himself, jerking around, the arm he had around me holding onto my waist, fingers digging in. I didn't even want to speak, I didn't want to pull him out of the trance he was in, it was just so amazing to watch. He started to shake a little bit, and his hips came off the bed.

"Carly...slow down...I'm gonna...ohhh...god...shit...Carly...AAAH!" he moaned as his back arched and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. I had never seen anything so incredibly sexy in my entire life, the sight of Brad losing it because of me. I couldn't stop looking at his face, the expressions he made were just...it got me going, okay?

His hand went to my wrist, pulling it away as he jerked a little bit. "Okay...okay...stop..." he panted. I looked down at my hand, and grimaced a bit. That part was a bit unpleasant, but it was worth it, just watching him lose it like that. I got up to grab the box of tissues by my bed, wiping my hand with one before tossing it in the garbage, and then turning around to look at Brad laying on my bed. He'd managed to fix his jeans but he was laying on the bed, still breathing heavily, looking completely out of it. I scooted closer to him cautiously, and he reached up and grabbed my arm, pulling me down next to him. I laid my head on his chest, and I smiled at the feeling of him running his fingertips up and down my arm.

"Was that...okay?" I asked against his chest. He laughed a little.

"That was amazing. Thank you," he responded, kissing me on top of my head. "I love you, babe."

"I love you too," I responded. We laid there for a few minutes, and then suddenly Brad flipped me onto my back, kissing me.

"Your turn," he said before kissing me again, and I moaned against his mouth.

I may be suspicious about April, but I was REALLY glad Spencer was gone for the weekend.

~*Freddie*~

"Ugh, I am starving. What time is it?" Sam asked as we laid in bed together, watching television. We'd started out cuddling on the couch after a very particularly passionate lovemaking session, but then a love scene came on in one of the movies we'd been watching and it got us riled up again, so we'd moved to the bedroom. We were just laying together now, still naked, but totally worn out. At least I was. Sam was starving, and I knew once she'd stuffed her face and got her energy back, she'd probably be ready for round three. Girl was going to kill me one of these days.

"So go eat something. It's almost two," I responded, kissing her shoulder.

"Okay," she got up and walked over to my dresser, pulling out one of my shirts and pulling it over her head. "I'm gonna make a sandwich, do you want one?"

"Uh-huh," I responded, feeling like I'd probably need it. "And agua. Lots of agua."

"Aw, am I wearing you out baby?" she asked with a grin, before walking back over to the bed and bending down to kiss me.

"Oh yeah," I replied. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Good," she replied. "Because after I eat, round three." See? Did I know that little nymphomaniac or what?

I laughed, rolling onto my back and looking at the ceiling. "I dunno, he may not cooperate this time."

"We'll see," she responded with a challenging look. I rolled my eyes, and she opened the door, shutting it behind her to walk down the dark hallway into the kitchen.

I laid there for a moment, looking at the television but not really watching it, when I heard a noise that had me to my feet in a split second.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" It was Sam! Then I heard a man yell, and a loud thud. Oh, shit! I quickly pulled on my boxers and flung the door open, running down the hallway.

"Sam? Sam!" I yelled into the darkness.

"Aaah! Get out get out get out!" Sam was screaming. I couldn't see her but I could hear her fists making contact with something. I flipped the light on to the living room at the switch to see Sam pummeling a shirtless man who was laying on the ground.

"Burglar!" Sam yelled at me.

"Samantha!" the man groaned, and Sam's face went from terrified to horrified.

"Oh my god!" she bent down to look at him. "Dr. Robert?"

OH MY GOD! My hands went to my head. Oh god. Oh god. That was the only thing I could think! Not because Sam had just pummeled her former doctor, but having a shirtless doctor on our living room floor after he'd gone out with my mom could only mean ONE thing.

The door to my mom's bedroom clattered open, and out walked my mom, clothed in only a man's button up shirt. DR. ROBERT'S BUTTON UP SHIRT. Oh god!

"Oh my god!" I yelled, turning my head.

"Sam!" My mom yelled. "What did you do? Robert are you alright?"

"It's not my fault!" Sam defended herself. "I thought he was a burglar! Oh my god, Dr. Robert I am SO sorry, I'm really jumpy after everything that happened, and..."

"I'm alright," he said standing up.

Oh god, my wife just clobbered her former doctor who is banging my mom who is standing in front of me wearing nothing but his shirt, and I'm in my underwear! This was like a nightmare! Sam finally looked up at my mom and then covered her eyes.

"Oh, god, Marissa, a few more buttons, please!" she cried. "Oh god, this is horrible!"

"Fredward!" My mom finally looked at me. "Go put some clothes on!"

"You too!" I yelled. "Oh my god! Oh my god!"

"Calm down, both of you!" My mom yelled at us. I glared at Dr. Robert, and he just stood there looking at me like all this was normal.

"Hey, Freddie," he said.

"What?" I barked. "Hey Freddie? That's all you got? You're banging my mom, man!"

"FREDWARD KARL BENSON! THAT IS ENOUGH!" my mom yelled, her hands on her hips. Sam walked over to me, her hands going to my chest, pushing me back a little.

"Freddie, let's just go to bed, okay? Just calm down!" she said.

"I can't calm down!" I said, feeling like I was going to have a panic attack. "This is...he's banging my mom!" This had NEVER happened before. My mom had never brought a guy over. I didn't know how to handle this. I mean, this is my mother we're talking about!

"Freddie! That's enough! I have to put up with this from you two all the time, stop being so judgmental!" my mom yelled at me.

"Okay, okay!" Sam's hands went up. "You guys go...in that room...we're going in our room! Freddie, NOW!" she said, physically turning me around and shoving me towards our bedroom.

"No way, Sam, I..."

"MOVE!" Sam yelled, pointing at the door. "Now!"

I grunted at her before turning around and stalking to the bedroom, flopping down on the bed.

"I'm really, really sorry, Dr. Robert..." I heard Sam say. "Marissa, I'll deal with Freddie, I'm really sorry about this, guys!"

"It's okay, Samantha," Dr. Robert responded. Like hell it was!

"Just try to get him to calm down, honey! He's being ridiculous!" my mom exclaimed.

"I know, I know!" I could hear Sam's voice getting closer. "Goodnight, you guys! I'm really sorry!" A moment later, she walked in, shutting the door behind her. She stared at me for a second, before taking a deep breath. "Okay...look," she said gently, but stopped herself. "Nevermind. We'll deal with it in the morning." She laid down next to me, her arms over her chest. We were both silent for a moment.

"Are you still in the mood?" I asked her, staring up at the ceiling.

"No," she responded. "Are you?"

"No."

Both of us stared up for a moment, arms crossed over our chests, totally silent.

"Maybe we should just go to bed," Sam finally said. "Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay," Sam said again. Nobody moved. Finally, I dared to look at her, and she looked at me. More silence.

"EWWW!" we both yelled out suddenly. My hands went to my face.

"Oh my god, your doctor's sleeping with my mom."

"Oh my god, I saw Marissa's boobs," she whined. "This is...bad."

"Yeah," I responded, still mortified.

"Yeah." She paused. "Let's just go to sleep." She reached over me to turn off the light, and we both laid there in the dark for a second in silence.

Then suddenly, again, both of us.

"EWWWW!"


	48. Chapter 48: Please Please Me

**A/N: Aaaargh! I really, really, really tried to finish earlier today, I swear! Life keeps getting in the way. Okay, transitional chapter, but lemony, with the usual psycho-babble BS thrown in for good measure. **

**Chapter Forty Eight:  
><strong>**Please Please Me**

~*Carly*~

My phone would NOT stop ringing. I'd gotten five missed calls. I looked up at the clock and groaned. It was barely eight AM, on a Saturday. Somebody better be dead!

I rolled over, coming into contact with something, and my eyes popped open. Aww. Brad looked so cute when he was sleeping. I'd almost forgotten he'd slept over last night. After a very intense makeout session, and I do mean VERY intense, we'd just hung out for the rest of the night. He hadn't wanted to go home, and I didn't want him to either. I'd never fallen asleep in someone's arms before last night, but it was so, so nice. The way he held me just made my heart melt. I loved him so much, I never wanted to be away from him.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Ugh! Again? I rolled over to pick the phone up and Brad's arm shot forward, grabbing me at the waist and pulling me back against him, my back to his chest.

"Don't answer that," he muttered before kissing me on the neck. His other arm went around me. "Go back to sleep, babe."

"It might be Spencer," I responded, rolling over briefly to kiss him on the side of his head before picking the phone up.

"Oh god, it's Sam. I hope they didn't have another fight." I wasn't in the mood for it today. "Hello?"

"Can I come over?"

I groaned. No! "Why, what's wrong?"

"I gotta get Freddie out of the apartment, like now. Before he has a freak attack."

I sat up, still groggy, ignoring Brad's complaints. "Why? What happened?"

"I'll explain when we get over there. Is it okay? I'll buy you breakfast to make up for it or something," she replied.

"Ugh, fine," I replied. "I'll be right there, just wait outside for me to unlock the door." I hung up, turning to Brad. "Freddie and Sam are coming over."

"Uhhh..." Brad groaned, throwing an arm over his face. "Why?"

"I don't know. I'll be right back." I pulled the covers back, and lost my train of thought for a minute as I stared at Brad laying in my bed in only his boxers. Wow that was a nice sight to wake up to. I finally dragged myself out of bed, throwing the blanket back over him, and trudged downstairs, unlocking and opening the door. Sam was standing there with an annoyed expression on her face and Freddie was leaned against the wall, head hanging down.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Did something happen?"

Sam rolled her eyes, grabbing Freddie and pulling him off the wall. "In," she said, giving him a little shove. He stalked toward the couch and fell onto it face first, moaning in despair. I looked at Sam, horrified.

"What happened?" I asked as I shut the door.

Freddie just moaned, the noise muffled by the couch.

"Um, well, Marissa's date with Dr. Robert went well. Really well. He slept over." My eyes widened in shock, and Sam continued. "So I went into the kitchen into the middle of the night to get food, not knowing all this was going on...and...well, I thought Dr. Robert was a burglar, and I attacked him."

I laughed, but Freddie grunted again from the couch, so I shut up. "And then what?" I asked Sam as she plopped down on the couch next to Freddie, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"And then Freddie came running out in his boxers, and then Marissa came running out in nothing but Dr. Robert's shirt. Oh yeah, and I saw her boobs," she responded.

"Mmmmrrrrruuuuuughhh!" Another muffled moan from Freddie.

"Oh god!" I exclaimed, trying to hold back laughter. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Sam shook her head slowly. "I wish. And Freddie's having a difficult time with the idea of his mom getting laid."

"Smmmmm!" Freddie groaned into the couch, fussing at his wife.

I sighed, smoothing back my hair. "Okay, I'm gonna make some coffee, he obviously needs it."

"Yeah, you think?" Sam replied, before turning to Freddie. "Baby, get up. It's not that bad."

Freddie lifted his head. "It is bad! It's terrible! What if we were doing it at the same time they were? Oh god!" His head went back down.

Sam rolled her eyes and stood up, following me into the kitchen. She plopped down on the barstool, her chin resting in her hand.

"I am so tired," she moaned. "I just wanted to get Freddie out of there before he and Dr. Robert managed to run into each other. Or Marissa, for that matter."

I gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm getting coffee, don't worry." I turned around to start the coffee pot going, and then turned back. "So what do you think?"

Sam shrugged. "My mom had guys in and out my entire life. It's not a big deal to me. Plus Marissa's been single for how long? Everyone needs a little loving, right?"

"Yeah, definitely," I agreed, leaning over the counter. Sam grinned at me.

"Dude, Marissa's got pretty decent knockers for an old lady though..."

"SAM!" Freddie hollered, curling into the fetal position. "Oh my god!"

Before Sam could say anything back, the door flung open and in walked Melanie, still in her cheerleading uniform, hair messed up, makeup smeared. She looked half asleep and totally out of it. Sam and I just gaped at her.

"What the hell happened to you?" Sam asked, looking her up and down.

"Party," Melanie responded. "It was fun."

"Too much fun, it looks like," I commented, and Melanie shrugged.

"Whatever, I'm going to sleep. Since you're not in it, I'm taking your bed!" she began rushing up the stairs and my eyes widened. Oh no!

"Melanie, WAIT!" I hollered, running after her. "Don't go in there..." I hadn't even made it to the steps, when...

"AAAAHHH!" Melanie shrieked. I hung my head down in defeat.

"DAMMIT!" I heard Brad yell, and then stomp stomp stomp, down the stairs he came, glaring at me.

"I hate that girl," he said, seething with rage.

"Wow, sailboats, really Brad?" Sam asked with an amused look on her face. Brad looked down at his boxers and gave Sam a death glare, before turning around and going back the stairs. I heard a banging noise coming from upstairs.

"Melanie! Open the fucking door! I need my pants!" BANG BANG BANG.

I just stood there, my head in my hands. It was WAY too early for this. I heard the door open and then slam.

"You didn't have to throw them at me!" Brad hollered. A few moments later, he came back downstairs, pants on, but still shirtless. Fine by me. He looked extremely pissed off, but he looked at me and all that seemed to melt away, as he walked down the stairs, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me to him.

"Morning, babe," he said, giving me a kiss. "Sorry about that." He looked at Sam. "What's up? Where's Freddie?"

"Look down," Sam responded, gesturing to the couch, where Freddie was still laying, his face covered by a pillow.

Brad leaned over to look at him, before looking up at Sam. "What'd you do to him?"

"Nothing. Dr. Robert slept over," Sam responded.

"Oh. Cool. Is there coffee?" he responded, walking around the couch and knocking Freddie's legs out of the way. "Share the space, dude."

Freddie finally sat up, hugging the pillow to his chest like he was permanently emotionally scarred. Brad looked at him, an amused expression on his face. "Dude, really? It's not that big of a deal."

"She was wearing his shirt! And nothing else!" he whined. "God...why? Why why why?"

"Okay," Sam said, hopping off the barstool to go to the cabinet, pulling out coffee cups. "We'll deal with that in a second, but first, oh...Carly!"

I looked over at her, prepared for her to give me the third degree. "Um, yes Sam?"

"So...how was your night?" she asked, gesturing to Brad and lifting her eyebrows.

"Um, it was...good..." I trailed off, turning a little bit red. Even though my friends and my boyfriend were all extremely comfortable in their sexuality, I was still catching up.

"Like...good good, or...?" she asked, looking at me.

"Uh, what do you mean?" I asked, snatching one of the coffee cups she'd just filled. I needed caffeine, right now.

Sam shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I'll pester it out of you later. Back to...that." She pointed to Freddie. "You gotta snap out of this baby! If you getting weirded out starts affecting how much time I log in the sack, I'm gonna be pissed!" She walked a cup of coffee over to him, handing it him and jerking the pillow away from him. "Grow up! This is normal! How do you think you got here? Because your mom got laid!"

"Ugh!" Freddie said. "Just stop!"

"I swear, you and Carly..." Brad grumbled.

"Hey!" I said, offended. "What about me?"

"You got all freaked out by Spencer getting laid!" Brad pointed out.

"He does have a point," Sam agreed. "Come on, you guys! Everybody has sex! Just deal!"

"Easy for you guys to say!" I pointed out. "Freddie and I aren't used to this, but Brad, your parents are...very...active, and Sam, your mom, is...well..."

"A dirty ho-bag?" Sam finished. I shrugged, nodding.

"We're just not used to it like you guys are, Spencer's never had a girl over, and now April's here all the time, and now Freddie's mom is banging Dr. Feelgood."

"Oh god, don't call him that!" Freddie said, chugging his coffee. "Okay, we gotta do something to get my mind off this."

"We were supposed to go get a new bed today, remember?" Sam pointed out. "A nice, big, comfy one? Without a broken bedframe?"

Freddie sighed. "I don't want to think about anything involving beds right now," he grumbled, and Sam looked like she wanted to hit him.

"Okay, that's it!" she said, grabbing the coffee cup out of his hand and setting it on the coffee table before grabbing his arm and yanking him up.

"Sam! What are you doing?" he asked as she grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulling him away from the couch.

"Screwing some sense into you, boy!" she growled. "Come on!"

"Aw come on, not in my bathroom, Sam!" I yelled, but it was too late, she'd already slammed the door shut. The next thing I heard was a lot of yelling and then a banging noise, followed by silence. Ew, was that Sam or Freddie making that noise? It was way too early for this!

"This is ridiculous," I said, flopping down next to Brad. I stretched my legs out and laid my head in his lap, looking up at him. He just sat there playing with my hair, his other hand resting on my abdomen.

"So..." he trailed off, looking down at me.

"I liked sleeping with you last night," I said softly, then turned a little red when I realized what I'd just said. "I mean, I...liked...you...us...sleeping..." I started to ramble, but Brad just laughed at me, tugging on my hair lightly.

"I know what you meant, Carly. I did too." he replied.

"Your dad hasn't called you?" I asked. He shrugged.

"You know how they are. If he actually thought I was sleeping with you he'd probably throw us a party or something. They're so weird."

"Yeah, I gathered that," I replied. We stopped talking, we were both pretty tired. I started to drift off, but then I heard the bathroom door open. Sam and Freddie emerged a moment later, and Freddie seemed in better spirits. I sat up, staring at them.

"Well?" Brad asked.

"I'm better," Freddie replied, stretching a bit. "Moment of weakness. Alright, go get your shirt, I'm starved."

Brad and I looked at each other, confused and amazed at the same time.

"What the hell did you do to him, Sam?" Brad said.

Sam shrugged. "Like you guys said, dark gifts. Come on, go get dressed, I'm hungry."

~*Sam*~

"What about this one?" Freddie asked. I flopped down on the bed he'd just pointed out and wrinkled my nose shaking my head.

"Too soft," I replied.

"I thought soft was a good thing," Freddie replied.

"We need the bed for more than sleeping, nub," I said pointedly, sitting back up.

Freddie and I were at the mattress store in the mall, looking for a new bed, finally. We could have just bought a new bedframe and been done with it, but we were both tired of the full-size mattress Freddie'd had since he was twelve, so we figured we'd just buy a new bedframe and mattress. It was fun picking out a bed, but the longer we browsed around the store, the harder it was for me to not throw him down on one of the mattresses to test it fully.

Freddie had freaked out last night over the whole Marissa/Dr. Robert thing, and had tried to carry it over this morning, completely freaked out by the idea of having sex in the same apartment his mother was having sex in, but I wasn't having it. I'd simply dragged him in the bathroom of Carly's apartment, even though he'd protested vehemently. His body and his brain simply didn't agree, and once I'd convinced him to bend me over the counter in front of the mirror, he got over it. Still, it wasn't like our usual intense mindfuck sessions, and part of that was because of me.

I was still pretty weirded out at the idea of people noticing the marks he and I were leaving on each other. I'd continued to talk to Brad about everything, just because of how his parents were, and he continued to assure me that we had to do what worked for us, that we should do what we liked, but I was beginning to feel bad. He liked it, I liked it, but other people just weren't like us. I'd tested him the other night by purposely not biting or scratching him, and he hadn't really notice. It'd been sweet and passionate, and it was amazing, and I liked that too, but I really liked how rough it got between us. But still, what if it WAS wrong? I couldn't get my head on straight. To top it off, I was exhausted. I just wanted to pick a damn bed already and get out of here.

Freddie's hand went to his chin thoughtfully, looking at the seemingly endless array of mattresses. "Okay, well what about that one?"

I got up off the bed I was sitting on and flopped down on the one he was pointing at, bouncing a little to test its resistance.

"Ooh, this one's good," I replied. "Not too hard, not too soft. Come here, try it out."

Freddie flopped down next to me and laid there for a second. "Yeah, this one seems good." He sat up suddenly before getting on his knees and bouncing a bit, before pausing, looking like he was thinking something over. "Yeah, it's good. It'll work."

I smiled at him mischievously. "Work for what?"

He leaned down, his mouth next to my ear. "For when you're bad and I need to pound the shit outta you." Ooh, that gave me little butterflies. I loved when he talked to me like that, especially when it would come out of nowhere. See what I mean? The naughty stuff got to me way more than the flowery sweet stuff ever would! I wondered if we could just stop all the crazy games and be normal. I didn't WANT to stop, that was the sick part. But maybe we should. Freddie stood back up, holding his hand out, before taking mine and pulling me to my feet.

"So this is what we want?" he asked, his hand still holding onto mine.

"Mmmhmm. It'll work perfectly."

"Okay. I'll go find a salesperson. You wanna text Carly and tell her we're done?" he replied.

"Yeah," I said, pulling my cell phone out. "I have no idea where she and Brad are."

Freddie shrugged. "No clue. I'll be right back."

~*Brad*~

"Okay, just tell me if you like this one!" Carly called to me from behind the dressing room doors.

I was sitting on a couch in some random clothing store Carly loved while waiting for her to pick out something new to wear to Quisp tonight. While it was a little boring, I didn't have too much of an issue with it, just because I got to see Carly in a bunch of different outfits, most of them showing a little bit more skin than her normal attire, which was always a good thing.

My jaw nearly hit the floor when Carly walked out in a short red strapless red. It was almost too short, but damn she looked good in it. It made her legs look like they were a mile long.

"Well?" she asked as I gaped at her. "What do you think?"

"Uhhh..." I trailed off like a braindead idiot. "It's hot." Ugh, really Brad? That's the best you got?

Carly made a face. "It's not too short?"

"Well, not for a club. I think it looks awesome. You look gorgeous."

"Should I wear it tonight?" she asked.

"Yeah, definitely." I replied. My phone rang, and I looked at it, groaning when I read the caller ID. "Carly, it's my dad. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay," Carly replied, going back into the dressing room to put on her normal clothes.

I walked over to a quiet corner of the store to answer my phone. "Hello?"

"Bradley, where have you been? You didn't come home last night, and it's nearly noon."

"Sorry dad, we were working on the show really late last night, I ended up crashing at Carly's. I'll be back in time to watch the kids," I said quickly, trying to avoid any drama that may happen

"You'd better be," my dad replied. "You need to be here at eight. And don't forget about your interview on Monday, I've set it up for you right after school. You have to be there, the representative won't be back in Seattle until October, and we cannot miss this opportunity."

"Uh, Dad, I told you, I'm not going to the academy," I responded. "I want to go to UW-Seattle."

"So you can play with cameras? Forget it, Bradley! You're going to that interview!" my dad yelled at me.

"Fine!" I snapped. "I'll go to the stupid interview! I gotta go, I'll see you in a few hours." I clicked off without bothering to say 'bye', trying as hard as possible not to hit something. My dad and I had been going round and round over this issue for the last two years. He was a graduate of the Marine academy and expected me to follow in his footsteps, but I just wasn't the military type! My dad and I were as different as night and day, the last thing I wanted to do was follow in his footsteps. I was afraid if I did I'd turn out exactly like him. He was good at his job, but he was domineering over me and my siblings. He'd never hit any of us, but sometimes I wish he'd just do that instead of ruin our lives with scandal and controlling everything we did. Not mention the way he and my mom were...I couldn't imagine treating a woman that way, even if she begged me to do it. It wasn't my definition of love.

Plus, I didn't know how things were going to go with Carly yet, but I knew I loved that girl, and if we managed to stay together, I'd have to go to the other side of the country, in NEW YORK for pete's sake, and be thousands of miles away from her. I didn't even like being three floors away from her.

I sighed, trying to shake all the thoughts of my dad out of my head, and walked back over to Carly, who was standing at the check-out.

"Hi," I said, kissing her on the cheek. "So what'd you decide to get?"

"The red dress," she responded. "Sam just texted me, she says they're done with the mattress store. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. "Why?"

Carly shrugged. "I dunno, you just seem like something's bothering you..."

I shrugged. "You know my dad," I replied. "Ready to go?"

Carly grabbed her bag, and I took it from her. She gave me a smile. "You're so sweet. Yeah, I'm ready."

~*Freddie*~

"So when are you guys supposed to get the new bed?" Carly asked me as we all got off the elevator.

"Uh, Tuesday," Sam responded, yawning. "I'm so sleepy." She leaned against me as we walked down the hallway.

"You wanna go sleep for a little while?" I asked, brushing hair off her forehead. She nodded, and I turned to Carly and Brad. "We'll see you guys in a few hours. What time are your parents out, Brad?"

"Eightish," he replied. "Did you talk to Tasha?"

"Yep," Sam said, yawning again. "She'll be here at nine, we'll leave then. Any clues about when your parents will be home?"

"Well, it's Saturday night, which means...probably three-ish. But the club closes at midnight anyway, so we should be good," Brad said.

I nodded. "Sounds good." I then turned my attention to Carly and Sam. "We're leaving at nine thirty, no questions asked, you two better be ready." Sam just nodded against my shoulder, Carly rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, Freddie, we got it," Carly replied. "We'll see you guys in a few hours. I'm gonna go kick Melanie out of my bed." She unlocked her door, and Sam reached out quickly to grab her before she walked in.

"Don't tell her where we're going, because she'll want to come."

Carly rolled her eyes again. "I know. I'm not. Brad would probably shit."

"Damn straight I would!" Brad snapped. Carly laughed, grabbing Brad's arm.

"Come on, killer. We'll see you guys later." They went into her apartment, and she shut the door behind her, leaving me and Sam out in the hallway as I unlocked the door, Sam leaning against the door.

"Wow, you really are tired, aren't you baby?" I asked her, concerned.

"Exhausted," she yawned. "I got no sleep last night because of your freak-out."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, opening the door for her. "Come on baby, let's go lay down, I'll rub your back."

I stuck my head in the door cautiously, looking for signs of my mom, or Dr. Robert for that matter. Ugh, I still wasn't over that. The idea of my mom having sex...ew. I didn't care if Sam thought I was being immature about the whole thing, it still disgusted me.

Sam collapsed on our bed face down, groaning. She hadn't even bothered to take her bag off her shoulder. "God, I haven't been this tired in forever," she moaned.

"Baby, you can't sleep in those jeans. I don't even know how you can walk around in them," I commented, disentangling her bag from her arm and setting it on the floor. She didn't respond, just rolled over onto her back.

I smiled at her, shaking my head, before bending down to unzip her jeans, yanking them down over her legs. "Better?"

"Uh-huh," she replied. "Lay with me."

I pulled my own jeans off, before laying down next to her, my hand going under her shirt to rub her back, and she sighed, turning her head to nuzzle against my shoulder.

"What time is it now?" she asked.

"A little after two," I replied. "We can sleep for a few hours and wake up in time to get ready to go out."

"Okay," she said softly. "Love you."

"Love you too, baby," I responded, kissing her on her forehead. "Go to sleep."

Later, I'd gotten up around six, but decided to let Sam sleep while I hopped in the shower. I was just about finished when I heard the shower curtain pull open. I turned around to see Sam standing there, her eyes traveling over my body.

"Hi," I said. "So you decided to wake up?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes finally moving up to meet mine. She didn't speak, and just the way she was looking at me started getting me turned on, along with the sight of her standing there in only a form-fitting t-shirt and her underwear.

"Get in here," I said, and she quickly pulled her shirt over her head, followed by bra and sexy little underwear before stepping in. She almost knocked me off balance as her lips came crashing down on me, pushing me into the wall of the shower. I groaned against her mouth as her body pressed against mine, wet and slippery from the water. God, she looked so sexy like that, hair wet, water running over her. My hands went into her curly blonde mane, holding her head still as I kissed her roughly. She moaned, her arms going around my neck to press against me even harder. Every slight movement she made caused her body to slide against mine, and it felt so fucking good. I pulled her head back so I could lick the water droplets off her neck, grinding against her. God, this felt so good, but for some reason it felt like she was holding back a bit. I nipped at her shoulder a little, trying to get her to pick up her game, and she moaned a little, but didn't retaliate.

What the hell?

I let go of her head to grab her waist, turning us around so her back was pressed against the wall, before bending my head to take lick over her collarbone, making her gasp, and going lower to take a hard nipple into my mouth, my tongue moving around it in slow circles before flicking across it.

"God, Freddie..." she moaned. "That feels so good."

"Yeah?" I asked, switching to her other breast and repeating what I had just done. "You sure?"

She nodded, gasping as she felt my hand go between her legs and rub at her.

Still nothing! No scratching, no biting...what was up with her? I dropped to my knees, kissing over her stomach before trailing my mouth lower, grabbing one of her legs and draping it over my shoulders before sucking on her inner thigh. Her hands tangled through my hair, but she didn't pull on it or dig her nails into my scalp or anything I was used to when we got like this. Damn it! I didn't like this, it felt a little too controlled and perfunctory for my tastes. I hoped to god it hadn't been just a phase, I liked feeling like I got to her so much that she couldn't control herself. I tested my limits a bit by biting her on the inside of her thigh, and she gasped, but still...nothing! I gave up, standing back up before pressing against her again and kissing her neck.

"Why'd you stop?" she whined.

"Why haven't you STARTED?" I growled, biting at her neck. She didn't answer, it seemed like she was hesitating or something. I grabbed her arms, pulling them above her head, pinning them to the wall, before directing my attention back to her beautiful breasts. "Come on, baby, talk to me," I said, kissing all over her chest.

"Do you like it when I scratch you?" she asked.

"Yes," I responded, going back up to kiss her mouth. "So why haven't you done it yet?"

"Do you like it when I bite you?" she countered, staring at me. She had to feel the way my lower body twitched, I was pressed right up against her, but I answered her anyway.

"Yeah, so do it!" I replied, sucking on her earlobe. She moaned a bit, grinding into me, but it still didn't seem like what I was saying or how I was acting was registering. I wanted her to be animalistic and out of control, to hurt me and please me all at the same time. It made me crazy, I wanted it now!

"Sam," I said in a low voice into her ear. "You starting to lose your edge, baby?" I asked, my hand reaching down to rub at her, before suddenly sliding two fingers inside her, working at her g-spot. She moaned, her face going into my shoulder. Dammit, girl, just fucking bite me or something!

"Answer me!" I said, picking up my pace. "Now."

"No!" she gasped. "I haven't."

"Then where's the fire?" I grunted against her neck before licking a trail over it. "You don't like it anymore?"

"Yes, but..."

"But what?"

"I..." she trailed off. "I'm not sure if we should anymore."

"Why not?" I asked her.

"People. They notice!" she whimpered as my fingers continued to move in and out of her.

"Fuck people!" I growled into her ear. "You hear me? I don't care!"

"God, Freddie..." she whined, shaking a bit. Damn, she was getting close already. Almost there. Just had to make her body override the doubts in her head, and we'd be good.

"Come on, baby..." I said, sucking on her neck. "You gonna come?"

"Aaah! Freddie!" she moaned. "God, this feels good..."

"Come on," I taunted her. "Come for me."

"Ohh, baby...Freddie...baby...god..." I waited until she was right at the edge before withdrawing my fingers, leaving her unfulfilled and aggravated. I was probably about to go too far, but I didn't care. I WANTED her pissed off. Her eyes popped up, and she glared at me. "Freddie! What the hell..." I pulled away from her long enough for her to stand up straight, before slamming her into the wall again and grabbing a fistful of her hair, pressing my body against her.

"Did that make you mad?" I hissed in her ear, grinding against her. "Come on, you little bitch, bite me!"

Oh yeah, I went there. I intentionally pushed her most sensitive button, and now I had to deal with the consequences. She was either going to do exactly what I asked, or she was going to slug me. I probably deserved to be hit, but it was too late to take it back now.

Her eyes flared with anger before grabbing my hair with one hand and jerking my head back, sinking her teeth into my shoulder and coming down hard, raking the nails of her other hand down my back at the same time. I hissed in pain. Fuck, yeah, that was it. That's what I'd been missing.

"Good enough for you, asshole?" she hissed in my ear evilly before biting it. I didn't respond, just picked her up and thrust into her, pinning her against the wall with my body, making her moan. I still wasn't done with her yet.

"Fuck what other people think," I growled into her ear, biting it, not nearly as hard as she'd bit me, but enough to hurt. "This is me and you, not anyone else."

She moaned as I moved in and out of her, trying to focus. "You like it when I hurt you?" she asked, gasping.

"Yeah, I do. Now do it again," I replied, picking up my pace a bit. She bit my shoulder again, and I moaned. "Fuck! Yeah, that's it baby...hurt me good."

"God, Freddie!" she moaned. I could feel her muscles tightening around me, and I kissed her neck before scraping my teeth over it.

"See? You like it too," I teased her. "I can feel how much you like it. You do, don't you?" I slammed into her hard.

"God! Yes!" she cried out, her nails digging into my back.

"But you're worried about what everyone else thinks? That's not the Sam I know and love. I'm not gonna put up with that," I grunted, grinding against her. "I'll just keep driving you crazy and keep pissing you off until you lose it."

"Baby, god..." she moaned. "Fuck, this feels so good..."

"Do it," I said, moving against her faster. "Bite me. NOW!"

She sank her teeth into my neck, and I groaned, starting to get close to the edge myself. Not wanting to go before she did, I reached between us to rub at her urgently, enjoying the way it made her moan. She laid her head back against the shower wall, her eyes beginning to roll into the back of her head, and let out a long, drawn out moan.

"Oh, god...baby...I'm gonna...aaahhhh!" she cried out. It was more of a shriek than anything, and when she dragged her nails down my back again, I gave in to my own orgasm, exploding inside her and letting out a loud moan of my own.

"Fuck..." I groaned against her neck. God, that felt good. I pulled out, letting her feet finally touch the ground, before reaching over and turning the water off, which had began to get cold. She'd have to wait for the water heater to catch up before being able to take a real shower, and that was fine by me, we needed to talk anyway. I reached over to grab a towel, handing it to her before grabbing another and wrapping it around my waist. I stepped out of the shower and heard her gasp.

"Freddie, you're bleeding," she said, sounding guilty. "God, I scratched your back to shit!"

"It's fine, baby," I replied. "Get out, we gotta talk."

She wrapped the towel around her and followed me to our bedroom, sitting down on the bed looking at me. I pulled my boxers on before sitting down next to her, sitting behind her a bit and pushing her hair aside to rub her shoulders.

"Talk to me," I said. "What's going on with you?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "I just..." she trailed off, looking at the ground.

"Baby, do you want to stop?" I asked. She knew exactly what I was getting at; I didn't have to explain myself.

"It makes people uncomfortable. The idea that we do this to each other," she replied.

"That's not what I asked you," I said, my hand going to her chin to force her to meet my eyes. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"That people judge us? A little."

I sighed, getting frustrated. "No, Sam. Take other people out of the equation for a second. Does this...what you and I do...does THAT make you uncomfortable?"

"No." She stared at me, our eyes locked.

"You'd tell me if it did?" I asked. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, or hurt you. At all. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, baby, I do," she responded. "I'm just really struggling with this."

"What about it?" I asked. "Sam...do you just wanna stop all of this? And just...you know...try it...normally?"

Sam sat there for a second, just looking at me, not speaking.

"Sam?"

"No," she finally said. "I don't. I love the fact that I can just totally let go with you, and that you can force me to be vulnerable, and nothing bad happens to me. And I like it when you let me be in control, too. And I like it when we get into arguments and then we can just attack each other and get it out of our systems. I love it, Freddie. I love you."

"So the only problem is what other people think? That's not you, baby," I replied. She shrugged.

"Brad's parents don't care what people think. Look what happened with them. Brad's terrified to let anyone in his life, let alone his apartment, if us and Carly weren't so damn weird and crazy he'd have no friends at all. His sister's the same way, terrified to let anyone in her life, and their parents don't care. What if that turns into us? Just two people with no consideration to how it affects other people?"

I shook my head fiercely. "That's not going to happen, Sam. We're not like that. We're different."

"How are we different?" Sam responded, a tear rolling down her cheek. "How? Something's wrong with us!"

"No! Baby, no." I said, my hands cupping her face. "The only thing that's wrong was how fucked up our lives were before we started this whole crazy thing!"

"That doesn't make any sense," she replied.

"It does, baby." I kissed her softly. "You couldn't handle being vulnerable at all until I started forcing it out of you. And now you're okay with it."

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"And you're the only person I've ever let get away with hurting me. And now I beg you to do it to me. And I was never in control of anything, until you started letting me take control. Now I don't feel completely helpless all the time. Don't you see? It's twisted, but we're fixing each other."

She bit her lip, looking at me. I could tell she was thinking the whole thing over.

"If you want to stop, tell me, we'll stop right this second," I said truthfully.

She stared at me for a second, and she was starting to make me a little nervous.

"Sam?"

Suddenly grabbed me by my shoulders, pushing me back onto the bed before straddling me and then biting my neck, grabbing my package at the same time. I moaned, grabbing her hair to pull her head to mine so I could kiss her passionately. She finally pulled away and we stared at each other, breathing heavily.

"I don't wanna stop," she said. "I don't want you to stop."

"Good," I responded. "Because I don't either."

"Would you though? If I asked?"

"In a heartbeat."

She stared at me, before bending down to lick a trail from my neck to my ear. "Tell me you like it when I hurt you."

"I love it when you fucking hurt me, baby," I murmured in her ear, before surprising her and flipping her onto her back, grinding against her. "Now tell me you want me to control you."

"I want you to control me," she said without even a hint of hesitation.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," she responded. She paused. "How much time do we have?"

"Three hours til we leave."

She groaned, pushing me off her. "I'm starving, and I still have to shower and fix my hair and everything." She sat up, and then suddenly grabbed the back of my neck, pulling me to her, before scraping her teeth over me. "We'll finish this later."

"Bet your sweet little ass we will," I growled. "Now go get ready."


	49. Chapter 49: You Know What To Do

**A/N: Had to split this chapter in two parts or it would have been absolutely massive. Wanted to throw one more update in the mix before I finally crash out and sleep. Sidenote: Upon going through my playlist, it occurred to me that "La La" by Ashlee Simpson? Total Sam and Freddie song. It works, go check it out.**

**Chapter Forty Nine:  
><strong>**You Know What To Do**

~*Sam*~

"Sam, Carly! Get a move on dammit!" Carly and I heard Freddie yell up the stairs.

"We'll be right there! Chill out!" Carly yelled at him before slamming her door shut and rolling her eyes. "Sam, are you sure this isn't too much?"

I looked at the red dress Carly was wearing, complete with a pair of sky-high platform heels, and shook my head. "No way, you look hot! You know, aside from being ridiculously tall. But really hot."

"Are you sure?" she whined, pulling the dress down some. "The makeup's not too much?"

"No! Of course not!" I responded. "What about me?"

Carly eyed my outfit critically. It wasn't anything Freddie had EVER seen me in before, and I'd wanted it that way. It was a very low cut purple dress that had criss-crossed straps down the back, which ended in a v-shape right above my butt, making it very apparent I wasn't wearing a bra. I was wearing matching purple strappy heels that gave my height a boost, my hair straight for a change. It was going to blow Freddie's mind, at least I hoped it would.

"Well?" I pressed her.

"I don't think you should wear that," she responded, her hands on her hips.

"What? Why?" I asked. "Does it look bad? Why shouldn't I wear it?"

"Because Freddie's not going to let you out of the apartment and you guys will end up dirtying up my bathroom again!" Carly said, a big grin on her face. "Sam, you look hot as hell!"

I beamed. "Really?"

"Yeah, Freddie's gonna freak!"

"God, I hope so. I really want this to be a good night!" I said.

"No sneaking off to the bathroom this time, okay?" she said, nudging me a little bit.

"I'll do my best," I replied with a shrug. "Okay, you still haven't told me what happened with Brad last night! Did you guys...you know?"

Carly shook her head. "No. Not yet...but...you know. Other stuff."

"Like what?"

Carly sat down on her bed, blushing a little. "Um, just...you know."

"No I don't, Carly! Tell me!"

Carly gave me a Look. "Yeah, you know this stuff pretty well, Sam!"

I shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. Just tell me!"

"Okay, fine. I...you know..." she trailed off. God, getting this girl to talk about sex was like pulling teeth! "We...I..."

"CARLY!" I said, shaking her shoulders. "If you're gonna do it you gotta be comfortable with talking about it!"

"Well, we were making out, and he said he had to stop because it was getting hard to control himself, so...I just did what he did for me in the Mustang the other night..." Carly said. "Oh my god, Sam...it was so amazing...being able to do that to him...and watching him...like...the expressions he was making."

"Uh, did he return the favor?" I asked, my hands on my hips. "Cuz he better have, or I'll punch him!"

"Yeah, of course he did!" Carly said. "He's so sweet, Sam. I love him so much!"

"Aw, Carly," I said, giving her a little hug. "I'm glad you guys are happy together. You sweet little lovebirds," I cooed, patting her on the head.

"Yeah, I'm glad you little pervs are happy together too!" she shot back. I gave her a Look, before walking over to the door and pulling it open.

"Hey, Freddie!" I yelled. "Guess what! Carly gave Brad a handjob!"

"Oh my god, Sam! Shut up!" she yelled, launching a pillow at my head. I ducked and stuck my tongue out at her.

"That's very special, and I'm very happy for Brad, but CAN WE GO NOW?" Freddie yelled. "We have limited time here, ladies!"

"Ugh, we'll be right there!" I yelled. "Hold on!" I turned to Carly. "Okay, are we ready?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she said, standing up. "Let's go." She grabbed her coat and tossed mine at me, and I began pushing her out the door. "Ready to make Freddie drool?"

"A lot more than that, Shay," I responded. "Let's do this." We started walking down the stairs, Carly getting to the bottom first.

"Jeez, Carly. Trying to give Brad a heart attack?" Freddie asked, before his eyes settled on me, his jaw dropping. "Holy shit."

"You like?" I asked, doing a little spin. He just continued to stare at me with that same expression. "Freddie?"

"Holy shit," he said again. I laughed.

"That's all you can say?" I asked, walking down the stairs the rest of the way and stepping in front of him. He pulled me into his arms suddenly, kissing me.

"You look fucking gorgeous," he replied. "Absolutely amazing."

"Really?" I asked. "You think it looks good?"

"Yeah. I can't wait for people to see me with you on my arm tonight, because damn. I'm going to be making a LOT of guys jealous tonight."

"Guys, let's go. Brad's waiting," Carly said, looking at her phone. She walked to the front door, opening it and walking out. I followed her, jumping a bit as I felt Freddie grab my ass. I looked over my shoulder at him and he just grinned at me. Okay, he did like my outfit, REALLY liked it. He didn't look too bad either, I loved him in those dark jeans and the white graphic tee he was wearing that really hugged his biceps. God, his arms were so sexy. We'd end up eating each other alive after the night was over, I could feel it already.

We got in the elevator and went down to the fifth floor, walking to Brad's apartment. Freddie banged on the door while I fixed Carly's hair, fluffing it a bit to give it more volume.

"Are you sure about the eye makeup?" she asked. I nodded.

"Freddie, tell her she looks good."

"You look great, Brad's gonna blow a load in his pants or something," he responded, banging on the door again. Carly gasped at Freddie's bluntness, before turning a little red.

The door opened a moment later. "Hey guys!" It was Tasha. I'd always liked her, I just had no clue what she saw in Gibby. She was doing us a huge favor by covering Brad's ass tonight.

"Hey, Tasha," I said.

"Hey girl, where's Brad?" Carly asked.

"He's in the bathroom...oh my gosh, you guys look amazing! Sam, I can't believe you're in a dress!"

I shrugged. "Not usually my thing, but if Freddie likes it..."

"Trust me, Freddie likes it," Freddie responded, flopping down on the couch. "Brad! Hurry up!"

"Where's the baby?" I asked, looking around the apartment.

"Oh, she's asleep already," Tasha said. "Sorry." I guess word had gotten out how I was about babies.

Heather was in the kitchen, eating and texting on her phone. "Hi!" she called.

"Hey, Heather!" we all greeted her. Heather put her phone down and walked around the counter, looking at me and Carly's attire.

"Wow, you guys look really cool," she said, before crossing her arms. "So you got me and Bryson's payment? For keeping our mouths shut?"

Carly looked at her in shock for being so forward, but I didn't mind, it kind of reminded me of how I was when eleven. Heather was a pretty girl, basically a female carbon copy of Brad, tall for her age and skinny, with long dark blonde hair.

"Yeah, I got them," I responded, reaching in my bag and pulling out a bunch of giftcards. "Build-A-Bra for you, Toys Galore for Bryson."

She looked at the giftcards I'd handed her, wrinkling her nose. "Forty bucks a piece?" she looked back up at me. "Come on, I know you can do better than that!"

"Heather!" Brad had come out of the bathroom and was glaring at her. "Stop being a brat!" She rolled her eyes.

"It's gonna be so hard for you to sit home with us when your girlfriend looks so pretty," Heather replied, gesturing to Carly.

Brad's eyes shifted over to Carly, and his jaw dropped.

"Hey, baby," Carly said, giving him a smile.

Brad didn't speak, just walked over to Heather and pulled out his wallet, taking out two twenties. "One's for Bryson."

"Pleasure doing business with you guys," Heather said with a sweet smile, before going back to texting on her phone.

"Dude, your little sister is devious," Freddie commented.

"I like her," I commented, shrugging. I pulled three more giftcards out of my bag and handed them to Tasha. "Here. Thanks for doing this for us."

"Oh, no problem," she replied. "You guys have fun tonight."

"Oh we will," Brad and Freddie both said at the same time, staring at me and Carly. Carly and I just grinned at each other. This was going to be an awesome night.

"Okay boys, let's go," Carly said, walking to the door. "We'll be back later, bye Tasha!"

"Bye guys!" she called.

We all exited Brad's apartment, and Freddie and I thought Carly and Brad were behind us, but when we'd reached the elevator and turned around, they were further down the hallway, barely outside Brad's door, kissing. It looked like something out of a 1940's film poster, Brad with his arms around Carly's waist, Carly with her arms around his neck, one of her feet up in the classic kiss pose.

"Aw, they're so cute," I commented to Freddie. "Look, Carly's in love."

Freddie gave me this look that made me want to melt. It wasn't the 'I want to bang your brains out' kind of look, it was something else. Sweeter.

"So are we," he responded, before pulling me to him and kissing me.

~*Freddie*~

I was having trouble not dragging Sam into the men's room and having a repeat of what happened the first time we were here together. She looked so incredibly beautiful, hot, sexy, every adjective I could think of. I loved the dress on her, but I couldn't help but think it would look better on the floor. I wanted to see what she looked like in nothing but those shoes.

We'd sort of made an agreement to Brad and Carly we wouldn't drag each other into the bathroom tonight, so we had to be content with grinding all over each other on the dance floor. That was fun too, it was like a massive tease that was going to end up building up into an amazing explosion whenever we got home. I just hoped the conversation we'd had earlier had gotten through to Sam. The last thing I wanted to do was give up the rough, lecherous, no holds barred sex we'd both come to love, but I'd do it for her. I just prayed to god I didn't have to. There was nothing on earth like having that girl bite me and being able to throw aside any sense of propriety or decorum and just literally fuck like animals. God, just thinking about it was getting riled up, and it didn't help that she was currently grinding against me in that little purple dress, the only thing she was wearing underneath a tiny little thong. I could literally pull that little scrap of material to the side and and slide right inside her.

"You're making me crazy in that dress," I said into her ear as she turned around and began grinding her tight little butt against me, her back pressed up against me. She looked at me, her head resting on my shoulder, and gave me a sexy smile before arching her back a little bit and wiggling right against my pelvis. I growled into her ear before biting it. "I just wanna rip that thing off you, right now."

She turned around again, pressing her chest against me, pulling my head down so I could hear her over the loud bass. "When we get home, you can rip it off me and then do whatever you want to me," she responded before kissing me.

"That's a dangerous thing to say, baby," I replied, my hands going to her lower back and pressing her against me so she could feel how much she was turning me on. She just smiled at me, like she knew exactly what she was getting into, and didn't care. I felt her lips go to my neck, nibbling a bit, and I groaned, my hand going underneath her knee and lifting her leg so I could grind her against me more. My other hand went down from her lower back to her butt, almost without my knowing. She gasped, tightening her hold around my neck, and we just kept going, grinding against each other urgently. We were completely lost in each other, nothing else even around us as far as we were concerned, until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I let go of Sam's leg and looked over my shoulder to see Brad and Carly looking at us.

"What?" I barked.

"Dude, chill out a little," Brad said. "People are looking. You want pictures to get on the internet?"

I groaned. Brad had a good point. Word had been out online that we'd gotten married for a little while, but we kept things strictly professional during filming. We didn't like a lot of attention being focused on our relationship, we got it enough in school. The last thing we needed were crazed Seddie fans getting ahold of photos of us practically humping each other, especially with Sam dressed how she was.

"Okay, let's go sit down for a second, so we can...calm down," I said to Sam. She nodded, and I pulled her through the crowd over to one of the couches. She draped her legs over my laps as I sat down, and I gave her a Look. That was NOT going to help me stop getting riled up, I loved her legs, especially in those ridiculously tall shoes she was wearing. God, why did she have to be so fucking hot?

"Having fun?" Sam asked me. I nodded, my hand rubbing up and down her leg. She gave me a Look.

"Stop it," she chided me. "I really wanna jump you right now."

"You're not the only one," I responded. We stared at each other for a second, before Sam pulled her legs down and nearly attacked me, grabbing the back of my head and pulling my mouth to hers.

"Guys!" Carly yelled, grabbing Sam and yanking her back. "God, stop! You're in public!"

Sam sat back, her arms crossed over her chest, pouting. I could tell what she was thinking, stupid people spoiling our fun. I completely agreed with her. I watched her look around a bit, before her eyes locked on something, and she leaned forward, slapping Carly on her leg.

"Ow!" Carly hollered. "What was that for?"

"Is that Melanie?" Sam asked, pointing. "I told you not to tell her, Carly!" I followed where Sam was pointing, and sure enough it was Melanie.

"I didn't!" Carly said defensively. "She wasn't even there when Brad and I went back to the apartment."

God, this wasn't good. Things had gotten a little bit better between Sam and Melanie, but they weren't great, and Brad hated Melanie worse than Sam did. It wasn't how I wanted things to go tonight.

"I guess she came with her cheerleader friends," Carly noted. "Let's see, I see Carrie, Megan, Kristen, oh, there's Brooke, I hate her, and...oh my god! Ew!"

"What?" Sam asked, looking. "Who is it...aw, fuck!"

"What?" Brad asked.

"Patrice," Sam said, and I groaned. Every time that girl popped up, it was no good. She'd started messing with me purely to piss Sam off, and it was working.

"How did that happen? I thought Patrice and Melanie hated each other!" Carly commented. "Maybe the cheerleaders brainwashed her!"

"Nah, you need a brain for that," Brad cracked, and I laughed.

Sam sighed. "I should probably at least go say hi to her or something." My eyebrows went up. That sounded borderline nice, which wasn't Sam's thing, at least not when it came to Melanie. She must have felt my eyes on her, because she turned to look at me. "I don't have to be a bitch all the time, Freddie!" She stood up, grabbing my hand and pulling me up with her. "Come on."

"Sam, wait! Patrice is over there, it's not such a good idea!" Carly rose to her feet and started following us.

"Look, I don't want any Patrice issues, I'll get us some drinks, okay? You and Carly go over there," I told Sam. She nodded, kissing me before linking arms with Carly and walking over to where Melanie stood with her little friends. I walked over to the bar, with Brad not too far behind me, and we ordered drinks. As I waited, I turned around and watched Sam and Carly. I really wasn't too concerned about how things were going to be honest, I just wanted to look at her beautiful bare back and her sexy ass in that dress.

I frowned suddenly as I watched them. Melanie looked Sam up and down before saying something that I'm guessing was bitchy, because Sam took a step back suddenly, a hurt look on her face. Carly spoke, then Sam, and then Melanie said something that made her cronies laugh before turning her back on Carly and Sam. I thought for sure Sam would grab her by her hair and hit her, but Sam just turned and walked away, heading for the bathroom.

Oh, hell no. I walked over to where Carly was.

"What the hell happened?" I asked her.

"I don't know!" Carly was dumbstruck. "Melanie just totally acted like a bitch to Sam and made fun of her, Sam didn't even do anything, she walked away."

Fuck. That meant that whatever Melanie said had really stung my poor baby. I turned to Carly. "Go find Sam. Now." Carly nodded, turning around and disappearing into the crowd, and I grabbed Melanie by her forearm, yanking her away from her friends.

"Ow!" she said, jerking her arm away. "What the hell was that for?"

"What the hell was that?" I growled. "What the fuck did you just say to her? The one time the girl's actually nice to you in YEARS and you pull that? Are you fucking kidding me, Melanie?"

"Freddie, I'm WORKING!" she snapped. "God, and I'm the dumb one?"

I was confused. "What the hell do you mean, you're working?"

Melanie's shoulder slumped and her head hung down slightly before popping back up. "Seriously, Freddie? Sam asked me to find out who was spreading rumors about you hitting her! Nobody's gonna tell me shit if they actually think I LIKE you guys! God! I'll deal with Sam later, AFTER I find out! Now get away from me before I blow my cover!"

I was absolutely dumbfounded. "Wait, what?"

Melanie sighed. "Okay, I'm gonna grab you now, and I want you to shove me off you and walk away all disgusted, okay?"

"WHAT?"

"Okay, go!" Melanie reached forward and put her hand on my leg, inches away from my crotch, and I jerked back quickly, giving her a death glare.

"WHAT THE FUCK, MELANIE?" I hollered. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Perfect!" she said. "You're a great actor, Freddie!" She looked behind her again at her friends before advancing towards me again, and I jumped back before she could touch me.

"I'm not acting! You're fucking crazy, Melanie!" I yelled, before turning and walking away. I looked over my shoulder to see her give me a little wave before turning back to her group.

Oh my god, what the hell just happened? I couldn't tell if she was serious about it all being an act, or if she was just messing with all us, but one thing was for certain, she was completely insane. I continued walking to the bathrooms to find Brad standing outside them, leaning against the wall.

"They're in there," Brad said, pointing to the girls' bathroom. I brushed past him. "Dude! Don't go in there, we said no bathrooms tonight!"

I ignored him, shoving the door open, rolling my eyes at the sound of a random girl shrieking, some annoying little brunette in a gaudy dress giving me a death glare.

"Get out!" she screamed. "This is the girls' room!"

"Shut up!" I yelled. "I'm busy!" I walked to the stalls, banging on the door of the bigger one. "Sam! Carly! You in there?"

The door unlocked and then creaked open, Carly poking her head out. "Yeah, we're in here. Come on out, Sam." Carly walked out of the stall, dragging Sam with her.

"Baby, are you okay?" I asked her, cupping her face in my hands. She nodded lightly, emitting a sad sigh. I could tell whatever Melanie had said had stung pretty bad, and in spite of how much she pretended otherwise, she actually did love her sister. Her eyes were a little watery, and I decided to just get her out of there so I could talk about whatever had happened. "Come on, let's go talk for a second."

"It's too noisy to talk," she replied.

"Then we'll go somewhere more quiet," I responded, taking her hand. I turned to Carly. "Thanks Carls, I got it from here."

"Okay, I'm gonna go find Brad, let me know how it goes, okay?" she asked as we all walked out of the bathroom. I glared at the prissy girls giving me looks and so did Carly. Sam was just staring at the floor.

Brad was still leaning against the wall when we walked out, coming off it immediately when he spotted us. "Everything alright?"

"It will be," I responded. "We'll be right back."

"Okay," Brad said. "You need me to beat anyone's ass?"

"They're girls, dude," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Oh. Right." He paused for a moment. "Do you want me to show Carly how to kick someone's ass?"

I had to laugh at that. "Nah, we're good. We'll be back in a sec." I led Sam away from Carly and Brad, and Sam looked up at me.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"The car," I replied. "Come on baby, I got ya."

She nodded. "I know."

~*Sam*~

Well, when I pictured Freddie and I in the backseat of his car, with me in this dress, this wasn't how I expected it to go.

I was leaning against the seat sideways, Freddie's arm around me, my head on his chest and legs stretched out over his lap. He was playing with my hair and rubbing my legs, just waiting for me to speak.

I sighed. "I really thought things were different. Or I was starting to. But she was just trying to get me to let my guard down."

Freddie shook his head, kissing me on top of mine. "After you walked off, I grabbed her and jumped down her throat. She acted like she was just playing a part. Did you ask her to find out information for you?"

I nodded, sighing. "Stupid move, huh? She wasn't playing a part for me, Freddie. She's been playing a part this entire time, trying to get back at me for whatever reason."

"I don't know yet. She's definitely got a few screws loose though. Just don't do anything yet, okay? See what happens. Maybe she really is just pretending with those girls."

I shook my head. "No. I hate her, Freddie."

"Nah, you don't, baby. That's what's bothering you. You want to hate her, but you can't anymore."

I nodded. I hated to admit it, but Freddie was right. As always. At least when it came to my feelings. I lifted my head to look at him.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"You wanna go back inside?" he asked.

I shook my head slowly. "No."

"Okay. You want to go home?"

"No." I let my hand trail up to his neck, before going behind it and pulling his head down to mine, kissing him. He groaned against my mouth, his hand gripping my leg.

"Sam," he said, pulling his mouth away from me. "This is a bad idea. We could get cau-" he stopped himself, and shook his head quickly like he was trying to shake the common sense from his head. "Fuck it," he growled, both of his arms going around me and pulling me closer before kissing me passionately. I kissed him back eagerly, moaning as he shifted our bodies so we were laying down, him on top of me. He broke the kiss to begin kissing my neck, licking, sucking, nibbling, doing the same to my ear. I sighed. He felt so good, he was the only thing that could get me out of my head. He sat up suddenly, his hands going up my dress to pull my underwear down over my hips. I sat up a little to unbuckle his belt, quickly unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans, my hand going into his boxers and wrapping around him, pumping him up and down slowly, trying to get him excited. It didn't take much.

"I hate quickies, but we're not gonna have much time," he said, laying on top of me again and kissing over my collarbone. "I'll make it up to you when we get home."

"Okay," I responded. "Just shut up and kiss me."

~*Carly*~

"It's been fifteen minutes, should we go look for them?" I asked Brad. "We should go look for them." Brad rolled his eyes.

"Carly, Freddie's got it, okay? I'm sure they're fine!"

"But Sam's really upset right now!" I replied. "Come on!" I grabbed his arm and dragged him through the sea of people. We went upstairs, nothing. Over by the bathrooms, nothing. Then I turned around and couldn't find Brad! I started freaking out, this was NOT how our night was supposed to go!

Just when I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, I felt an arm go around my waist. I was relieved to see it was Brad's arm. He pulled me against him, my back against his chest.

"Found them," he responded, turning me around and grabbing my arm.

"Really? Where are they? Is Sam okay?"

He laughed. Laughed! Sam's twin sister just embarrassed her in front of a group of girls she loathed, and my sweet boyfriend is laughing! Ugh!

"Sam's fine," he said, as he dragged me out the front entrance. "They're right there."

I scanned the line of people, but I didn't see them. "Where?"

"Right there!" He pointed, and I followed to where he was pointing to the other side of the parking lot where Freddie's car was parked. The windows were all fogged up and the car was rocking a little bit.

"Oh," I said, feeling like an idiot. "Of course." Ugh, even when Sam was upset they'd start going at it. Sex must be the most incredible thing in the world. I looked at Brad suddenly. He looked gorgeous tonight. Sexy. Sexy Brad. Want to grind on him. Now.

"Okay," I said, grabbing his arm and yanking him back inside. "Let's go."

"What are we doing?" he replied.

"We're gonna go dance and I'll let you put your hands all over me," I responded with a sexy smile, laughing as Brad's face lit up.

"Sweet! Okay, let's go!"

~*Sam*~

God, I couldn't get enough of Freddie, I thought as he kissed me hungrily. I felt his hand go under my dress again, rubbing me, and I moaned, wrapping my legs around him. He tore his mouth away from mine to pull the straps of my dress down, exposing my breasts before his mouth quickly covered one.

"God, baby!" I cried out, grinding against him. "Come on, I need you inside me, NOW!"

He didn't respond, just slid into me, both of us moaning, and began grinding against me, moving his hips in a slow, circular motion. He was trying to build it up slowly for me, but we didn't have time for that. I bucked against him, trying to make him go faster, but he wasn't having it. He held my hips down with one hand, the other hand going behind my head, holding it up so I didn't get a cramp in my neck. Even when we were going at it like animals, he still did little things that reminded me that he loved me.

"God, Sam, you feel so good," he groaned, burying his face in my neck. "You're so fucking beautiful."

I moaned as he tilted his hips up, rubbing against my g-spot. He drove me crazy when he did that. I whimpered, grabbing handfuls of his t-shirt and yanking it up so I could feel his bare skin. I could feel the scabbed-over scratches I'd left there earlier this evening, and I just ran my hands over his skin lightly. I was worried if I aggravated scratches that new, they'd get infected or something. Besides, we didn't have time for the all-out wars we called sex; once we got started down that road, a housefire couldn't pull us apart. He lowered his head to lick and suck at my breasts again, pushing me closer to the edge.

"Ohh...Freddie...baby...you feel so good...god..." I panted, grinding against him frantically. I could feel my thighs start shaking a little bit already. God, already? Maybe it was the fact we were for the most part fully-dressed, in the car in a public parking lot where anyone could catch us. Yeah, it was very hot.

"Don't hold back, baby," he said, reaching between us to rub at me. "We don't have time for you to hold back. I'll fuck your brains out when we get home, okay?" He slammed into me hard, making me moan and bite his neck.

"Aaah!" I cried out, feeling every muscle in my body tense up like it was going to snap. "Freddie! Oh god!"

"Come on baby, let me feel it. Let me feel you. Come for me," he said in that low sexy voice in my ear. I was trembling, shaking, squirming, grinding, losing control, oh my god this felt so damn good. He rubbed at me faster, pressing down a little harder, and I yelped as my thighs suddenly clenched around him hard, my eyes rolling back into my head.

"Oooohhhh fuck!" I cried out, burying my face in his shoulder and gripping his back. "God...Freddie...AAAHHH!" I felt my entire world collapse around me, everything spinning out of control.

He still wasn't there yet though, he kept going and I was surprised when after a minute or so, he brought me over the edge AGAIN, before finally exploding inside me. I was amazed, the whole thing took about ten minutes and he'd brought me off twice! Damn he was getting good at this!

He laid there for a second, his face against my neck, breathing heavily, trying to regain his composure, before finally sitting up, fixing himself and zipping himself back up. He helped me pull the straps of my dress back up and I slid my underwear back up my body, before we both sat back up, leaning against the seats. He put his arm around me, and I curled up against him.

"Better?" he asked, kissing my forehead softly. I nodded.

"You always make me feel better," I said. "It's like you refuse to give up, until I feel better."

"Because I love you, baby!" he said. "It's my job. I hate seeing you upset."

I smiled, looking up at him. "I love you too. We should probably get back inside though."

"Yeah, probably," Freddie groaned. "You're not gonna go in there and punch Melanie, are you?"

I shrugged. "No. I don't think I can fight in these shoes anyway. I'm just not gonna deal with her anymore. She's cut from my life. Completely."

Freddie's eyebrows went up. "Baby, maybe you should wait and talk to her before you do that."

I shook my head firmly. "Fuck her. I don't need another person trying to ruin my life. I have you, and I have Carly. And I can just pretend I traded in my stupid sister for a cool brother, Brad!"

Freddie shrugged. "I still think you should wait it out, but I'm not gonna push you. Just try and forget about it for the rest of the night, okay?"

"Okay," I replied, opening the car and stepping out. "Come on baby, let's go grind on each other again and get all riled up for round three of the day."

He groaned. "You're gonna kill me one of these days," he said with a sexy smirk.

I shrugged. "Hopefully you'll take me with you. Come on, baby!" With that, I dragged him back inside Quisp, making every effort to forget about my stupid ex-sister. I'd cut her out of my life once, it shouldn't be too hard to do it again.

So why did it bother me so much to have to do it again?


	50. Chapter 50: Ask Me Why

**A/N: Holy bajeesus, fifty chapters and we're barely half-way through? This story has a mind of its own. Anyway, here's the part I had to split off into a separate chapter. Mas drama!**

**Chapter Fifty:  
><strong>**Ask Me Why**

~*Freddie*~

"So tell what exactly did she say?" Brad asked Sam as we all walked out of the club.

Sam rolled her eyes. "She looked at me, and said 'Wow you and your man beating each other up, and now you're dressing like a whore. You're just like Mom!' I swear to god, I just want to..." she trailed off. "Aargh!"

Brad's eyes widened, and he gave me a Look. We all knew that what Melanie had said had been WAY out of line, whether she was "working" or not, there were certain lines you just didn't cross. Melanie had crossed a BIG one. Sam tended to worry a lot about turning into her mother, with the violent urges she harbored and all. Part of me was surprised Sam hadn't flipped out and began beating Melanie in the middle of Quisp, but then again, she was very, very hurt.

"Damn, she's a bitch, dude," Brad said, his hand squeezing Sam's shoulder. "Sorry."

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I know. I can't believe she actually said that. She could have gone anywhere else, and maybe I would have believed that she's just pulling a double agent, but that?" She shook her head. "No way, pulling our mom into it just proves that she's holding onto some old bullshit she's still pissed about."

"Well, it's over now, so don't worry about it," Carly replied. "Melanie's an idiot. I don't even want her in my apartment anymore, but I can't let her be homeless or anything." She stopped in front of my car, staring at it. "Do Brad and I HAVE to sit in the backseat?"

I rolled my eyes. "Carly, grow up. Just get in the car, we gotta get back."

Carly slid into the backseat along with Brad, grumbling to herself.

Before I could even start the car, Brad's phone beeped with a text message, and his eyes widened. "Oh, shit!"

"What?" I asked, whirling around.

"It's Heather. They're back! Aw, fuck! I am DEAD!" Brad yelled, his head resting on the back of Sam's seat.

"Hold on, if you were dead already he'd be calling you. Where's Tasha?" Sam asked, turning around.

"Heather said she's all curled up in my bed with the covers pulled over her, pretending to be me asleep. Thank god she's a tall chick."

"Okay, then we're fine!" Sam responded. "Don't you have a fire escape IN your apartment instead of the hallway?"

"Uh, yeah?" Brad replied.

"So you'll climb up the fire escape and then we'll sneak Tasha out! Not a big deal. We just gotta haul ass!" Sam said. "Can you drive any faster?"

"If you want us to get pulled over by one of his dad's police buddies, sure, I can drive faster, but that'll take some explaining, right?" I responded.

"Yeah, good point," Sam said. Brad was still grumbling, on the verge of a freak out, his head still leaned against Sam's seat, and her arm went back over the seat, whacking Brad on the head

SMACK!

"Ow!" Brad hollered. "Knock it off!"

"Sam! Don't hit my boyfriend!" Carly said.

"Calm the hell down!" Sam shouted. "Carly! Do something, distract him."

"How am I supposed to do that?" she replied from the backseat.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Really, Carly? Either distract him or Sam's gonna keep hitting him!"

It got quiet for a suddenly, and I looked in my rearview mirror to see Carly kissing Brad intensely. She could be really dense about these sort of things, but it seemed like she was beginning to get it.

I pulled outside of Bushwell, by the fire escape that went up the side of the building Brad lived on.

"Okay, get your ass up there, and send Tasha down, we'll wait here," Sam said.

Brad turned to Carly, kissing her. "I had fun. I'll see you tomorrow, babe. Love you."

"Love you too," Carly said with a goofy smile.

Brad got out, heading to the stairs and glancing at Carly one last time before going up. I heard Carly sigh softly, and I turned to look at her.

"Have fun tonight?"

"Mmmhmm," she replied. "You know, except for the drama. I love him."

I nodded. "Good. You guys work well together."

"It's true," Sam said, turning to look at Carly. "You guys are so sweet together!"

"Well, so are you and Freddie," Carly pointed out. Sam looked at me, an amused expression on her face.

"No we're not," we both said before laughing. Carly rolled her eyes a little before smiling and laying her head against the seat.

"Here comes Tasha," Sam pointed out, getting out of the car. "Hey! Sorry for all the Mission Impossible shit!"

"It's fine," Tasha shrugged. "I'm used to sneaking out of Gibby's all the time, and I always have to sneak him into the dorms. Hey, do you guys know what's going on with that locked room in their apartment? I tried to go in there because I was looking for DVDs and I thought Heather was going to have a heart attack."

I looked at Sam quickly, and she shook her head slightly. "No idea," I replied. "Maybe that's where Richard keeps his guns or something."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Tasha said with a shrug. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go get my car, I'll see you guys around!"

"Bye!" we all said. I turned the car back on, driving into the parking lot, sighing a bit.

"That was a close one," I commented, and Sam nodded, before turning to Carly.

"What's your plans tomorrow?" she asked. Carly shrugged.

"Probably hanging out with Brad. What about you guys?"

"I dunno, no offense but...I won't be at your apartment tomorrow, Carls. I don't want to deal with Melanie," Sam responded. Carly nodded.

"I don't want to deal with her either," she said simply as we got out of the car.

"Stop thinking about it," I growled in Sam's ear. "Think about what I'm going to do to you in about five minutes."

She looked up at me with that sexy expression on her face that looked like she was seconds away from ripping my clothes off, and I felt everything below the belt start to wake up. We may have just had sex in the backseat of my car not an hour ago, not to mention nearly killed each other in the shower, but it didn't change the fact that when it came to Sam I was ALWAYS ready to go.

We parted ways with Carly, and I unlocked my front door. Sam and I walked in and stopped short. My mom was on the couch with Dr. Robert. Aaargh! Luckily they were just talking, but I knew it wouldn't stop at just talking.

"Hi, sweetheart!" My mom greeted me. "Hi Sam. How was your night?"

"It was good," I responded, my arms crossing over my chest. I heard Sam groan behind me. I could tell she thought I was going to ruin her fun by getting into a bad mood. I turned my attention to Dr. Robert. "Dr. Robert," I said, well more like grunted, nodding to him.

"You guys can just call me Robert," he offered. I felt Sam put her hand on the small of my back, as if to calm me down or something. I wasn't going to hit the guy, but I didn't want to be all buddy-buddy with him either.

"Fine, Robert," I said. I looked at my mom. Okay, yeah, I was being immature as hell about all this, but I just couldn't help it. "We'll be in our room. Pardon the noise," I glared at her before grabbing Sam's arm and dragging her behind me to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She glared at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Freddie!" she scolded me. "What the hell was that? You're acting like a baby! Robert's a nice guy!"

"God, Sam, don't call him that," I groaned.

"He told us to!" Sam replied. "Baby, calm down! You're gonna have to deal with this! Do you want your mom to be alone forever? I mean, for fuck's sake, you're married, you should be able to deal with this already!"

I grabbed her suddenly, catching her off-guard, pressing her against the wall. "I don't want to talk about it anymore." I pushed her hair aside and began kissing her neck.

"Freddie," she said, moaning a bit. I could tell she wasn't done with the issue, but I was. I grabbed her leg, pulling it against me, grinding into her. "Freddie, we have to talk about this!"

"No, we don't," I growled, pulling her dress off and letting it fall to the floor. "And we're not going to." I hooked my fingers in the sides of her thong and pulled that off too, pulling away to check out the sight of her in nothing but those sexy heels she was wearing. Damn! I pressed up against her again, my hands running all over her body, and she moaned, but pushed at me a little.

"You're not gonna get out of talking about this, Freddie!" she said. I rolled my eyes, before picking her up and tossing her on the bed. She glared at me, but it seemed to melt away a bit when I pulled my shirt over my head. Yeah, that's right, we could be arguing like crazy people and the sight of me without my shirt on would shut her up. Damn that was good for me ego.

She still wasn't giving up though. "Baby, we need to talk about this! You can't freak out, you..." she stopped as I pushed her down onto her back, coming over her, rubbing my bare chest over her. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and began kissing and licking at the sensitive spot right behind her ear. She liked me bossy and in control? Fine. I was going to be bossy and in control, right now.

"Quiet," I growled into her ear. "The only sounds I wanna hear out of your pretty little mouth right now are moans and screams, got it?" I brought my hips down to grind against her, and she moaned.

"Got it?" I asked again.

She nodded. "Yeah, I got it," she said breathlessly. I stood up, pulling off my jeans.

"Good," I replied, looking down at her, my eyes traveling over her beautiful body. "Leave the shoes on."

~*Brad*~

"So you haven't even talked to her since Saturday night?" I asked Sam as we walked out of math class. She shrugged.

"Nope," she responded. "And I'm not going to. She can go to hell for all I care."

I leaned against the lockers, waiting for Carly as Sam rifled through her locker. Saturday night had certainly been an eventful one. I'd never seen my girlfriend look so incredibly gorgeous before, had a great time with her, great time got interrupted by Sam/Melanie drama, Freddie scared a bunch of girls out of the ladies' room, and I'd narrowly missed getting busted by my parents.

God, today was going to be even worse, I had that stupid interview for the academy. I really didn't want to, but my dad would kill me if I didn't. I really wished senior year would go on forever, I couldn't imagine spending the next four years of my life in a stupid military academy. And then he'd want me to enlist. Eight years of my life thrown away on stupid Marine shit. Eight years away from Carly. Fuck that. I wondered briefly if I could manage to flunk out my senior year.

I was immediately brought out of my thoughts when I spotted Melanie making a beeline for Sam. Oh god, this was going to be bad. I leaned over and punched Sam on the shoulder.

"Dude!" she turned around and glared at me. "What the hell was that for?"

"Look!" I said, gesturing to Melanie, and Sam groaned.

"God, why is this my life?" she grunted under her breath, before turning around and trying to look busy with her locker.

Melanie bounded over happily, like she always did, like nothing was wrong. Airhead.

"Sam!" she said excitedly. "I've gotta talk to you! I've got some news!"

Sam didn't respond, and Melanie's brow furrowed. "Sam?"

Sam slammed her locker shut, turning around to face her sister. "Don't talk to me."

"What? Why?" Melanie asked. "I thought -"

"You think I want ANYTHING to do with you after what you said to me? That was fucked up, Melanie!" Sam yelled. "How could you say something to me like that, and in front of people too?"

Melanie rolled her eyes cockily. "Sam, I was playing both sides, duh! I thought you knew how this worked."

"No, you were playing ME. I can't believe I was so stupid to actually trust your ass," Sam growled. "You left your perfect little life at boarding school just to torture me? Big mistake. Big."

Melanie took a step back, shocked. "I didn't come back to torture you. I wanted us to be okay again. And my life isn't perfect."

Sam scoffed. "Yeah, right. You've always been the perfect one, the good little daughter, remember? And things will never be okay between us! They never were! I tried! I always did! And you just kept getting me in trouble, kept trying to make me look like the bad one so you could be perfect fucking Melanie!"

"No, I didn't!" Melanie said defensively. "You managed to get in enough trouble for the both of us!"

"Fuck you, we got in trouble together! Until you went away to boarding school and left me behind to deal with all of it myself! You arrogant, selfish little bitch!" Sam yelled, jutting forward. I moved quickly, pulling her back. It was fine by me if she wanted to hit Melanie, the girl deserved it, but not in the middle of the school hallway, she'd end up getting suspended.

"Sam, chill. Not here," I said. She glared at me, before turning back to her sister.

"You fucking abandoned me."

"I ABANDONED you?" Melanie yelled. "I didn't abandon you! You never did shit to protect me! You protected everyone else around you, EXCEPT ME. You'd get into fights over someone picking on Carly, but all the shit that was going on in our house, you ignored it!"

Sam was clenching and opening both of her fists, trying to work off the nervous energy that was coursing through her. "I ignored what, Melanie? The fact that mom doted on you and gave you everything? The fact that you lorded your perfect grades and your stupid gymnastics shit over my head?"

"How about Joey?" Melanie replied stoically. "You ignored that."

I had no idea what Melanie was talking about, but I had a feeling I was about to find out, because the twins were about to kill each other right in the middle of the hallway.

"Yeah, I did. Made me sick to watch BOTH OF THEM adore you. Especially after they got engaged, you sure turned into a real daddy's girl, didn't you, Mel?"

Nothing on earth could prepare for me for what happened next. Melanie shot forward suddenly, her hands going to Sam's neck, and slammed her hard into the lockers. This perfectly attired little preppy girl in a pink sweater and a skirt with scottish terriers all over it had just choke slammed Sam Benson into a locker! She was DEAD!

"FUCK YOU SAM! You don't know shit!" She yelled. "You think I tried getting into bed with you at night because I wanted to cuddle? He fucking doted on me because I was the one who wouldn't fight back!"

Sam stared at her, not moving, both of them breathing heavily, not speaking. She made no moves to push Melanie away or anything. I was stunned. Melanie let go of her neck suddenly, and Sam stood up straight, only to have Melanie shove her back again. And she just took it! What was going on?

"I'm a fucking stupid blonde, Sam, but that's not why I was putting my pajamas on backwards for an entire year. And I didn't go to boarding school to get away from YOU. But I should have stayed, to stay away from you. Because you did nothing. You are just like her," Melanie hissed. "Go to hell, Sam!" She took a step back, glaring at her with so much hatred it was almost scary, before turning and walking away. I looked over at Sam, my mouth hanging open. Did Melanie just hint at what I thought she'd just hinted at? Sam was still leaning against the lockers, looking at the ground, stunned.

"Sam..." I said hesitantly. "What..."

"Brad, get your car," she interrupted me. "Now."

"Sam, we can't! We still have two more classes, and..."

"Brad!" she yelled, finally looking at me. "Please! It's important!"

"But...where are we going?" I asked as Sam opened her locker back up, pulling her bag out.

"We're gonna go make a visit."

"A visit? Where, Sam?" I asked.

"My mom," she replied. "Brad, please! I can't wait for Freddie, I have to take care of this, now! And he'll just try to talk me out of it! Please!" The bell rang, and she looked at me pleadingly.

"But..." I trailed off, thinking about the interview.

"What, Brad? What is it?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Fuck it. "Nothing," I responded, pulling my keys out. "Come on, let's go."

~*Sam*~

"Did you text Carly?" I asked Brad as we drove down the highway. We'd been driving for over an hour now, and I'd turned my phone off. I didn't want to talk to Freddie right now. I didn't want to talk to anyone, except one person. I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Brad shook his head. "She has a test, I didn't want to freak her out and get her mind all jacked up," he replied.

"So...we snuck off together again and didn't tell anyone. Yeah, that's gonna look really great," I sighed. Brad shrugged, his eyes on the road.

"Sam, are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked me. "I mean, see your mom? After everything that happened?"

I sighed, fiddling with the stations on his car radio. "Not really. But I have to. If what I think happened..." I trailed off, shuddering a bit. The very idea was disgusting, we were only ten when our mom got together with that Joey guy. He was always a little weird. In the beginning, he bought Melanie and I all kinds of things, toys, candy, you name it, but the guy creeped me out, so I just kept acting brattier and brattier. Melanie was different though, she wanted Joey to like her, so Mom wouldn't get angry with her. I didn't care one way or the other, the way I looked at it, she'd end up getting angry at me over something little anyway, so what was the point of being fake with her boyfriend?

Joey started ignoring me then, and focusing all this attention on Melanie, like everyone else around us. I just figured it was just like everyone else...perfect Melanie gets the attention, juvenile delinquent Sam gets shoved in the background. But now that I thought about it, it did seem a little strange. He paid more attention to Melanie than my mom.

One night, after I'd gotten really irritated with Melanie, she'd tried to get in my bed with me, and I was still so angry at her I just shoved her out of the bed, knocking her to the ground. She went to her bed and got her pillow and left the room. I don't know where she went, I figured she'd slept on the couch or something.

But then the next day she and our mom got into a huge fight, and then a week later, she'd gotten a scholarship to Holly Oaks School for Girls, and then she was gone. And then Joey left too. And it was just me and my mom. And things went from bad to worse.

I'd been so stupid and blind, ignoring all these giant clues, just chalking everything up to Melanie getting attention and a fancy boarding school because she was pretty, perfect Melanie. And even though we argued, a lot, her leaving took a big huge part of me with her. I felt like she'd just left me behind...she did leave me behind. But was she really? I had run away at sixteen, but had Melanie run away at eleven, just in a different way?

"So...let me ask...at the risk of sounding like an insensitive ass...if that did happen, then why is Melanie, you know, the way she is? With guys?"

That was a damn good question. I tried to think back to the random psychology mumbo-jumbo Freddie was always babbling about. He had this thing about what went on inside people's heads. Okay, think, Sam...

"Maybe she's like that because she's trying to push bad experiences out of her head. You know, replace them with good ones?" Though I didn't know how good random hook-ups were, I'd only been intimate with one person and one person only, and I didn't plan on going there with anyone else.

Brad shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you should refer her to your therapist."

"If she ever talks to me again. Hey, there's the exit!" I pointed. "Turn there, now!"

He did, and a few moments later we pulled up at a huge, sprawling complex.

"Whoa," Brad said. "That's a lot of prisoners."

"Yeah," I said, nodding. It occurred to me that I'd been headed down the same path, until Freddie had gotten ahold of me that is.

"You sure you wanna do this?"

I nodded slowly. "I have to. Just wait here, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm leaving my bag here so they don't search it or anything."

"Alright," Brad replied. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I replied, opening the car door and getting out, walking towards the entrance. I looked all around me, at the barbed-wire, the guard tower, the high metal fences. Whoa. This was nothing like juvey. This was scary.

"Hey, Sam!" Brad yelled at me, and I turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Don't let anything she tells you get to you. You're better than her, don't forget that."

I just stared at him, not sure of what to say, before giving him a small smile and going through the doors, holding my breath.

~*Freddie*~

I was freaking out. I couldn't find Sam anywhere. She'd walked into math class, and that was the last I'd seen of her. I knew she wasn't in the right frame of mind, I hoped she hadn't done anything stupid. School was over, it'd been a full hour and a half since I'd been able to see or talk to her.

"Her phone is off!" I yelled at Carly, frustrated. Carly was sitting on the hood of my car while I paced back and forth, in the midst of her own freak-out.

"Brad is gone too! They've both been missing since fourth period...what if they pulled a really stupid prank and got in serious trouble, Freddie?"

"I don't know!" I exclaimed, taking deep breaths. "Okay, I'm gonna text Gibby, maybe he's seen her." I started pounding out a frantic message to Gibby, stopping when I heard Carly gasp.

"Ooh! It's from Brad! Oh my god!"

"Well what does it say?"

"With Sam...at prison?" she yelled. "What the? What did they do this time?"

"Wait, calm down," I said. "I don't think that's why they're there. Didn't you tell me you heard she and Melanie got into a fight today?"

Carly nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

"I think she went to see her mom," I replied, sighing. "Dammit! Why didn't she say anything to me? She's not ready for this! Ask Brad what's going on!"

She started to fire off a text, but thought better of it, and called him.

"Brad!" she yelled into the phone, hopping off the car. "What's going on? Why are you guys at the prison? Why didn't you tell us? We've been freaking out this whole time, and..." she trailed off. "Wait, what? No way. You can't be serious. Well...is Sam okay? I mean...oh. Okay. Yeah. Well, look, call me when you guys are on your way back. Love you too. Bye." She hung up and looked at me, shock plastered across her face.

"Well?" I asked.

"They went to see Sam's mom. Brad doesn't know what's going on, he's sitting in the parking lot waiting for her. But...there was a fight."

"So why did she just run off to talk to Pam?" I asked, confused.

Carly sighed. "Sam's under the impression that before Melanie left for boarding school...something happened to her. Something bad."

I groaned. God, this just kept getting worse and worse. Every time I found out something new about Sam's family, I wished I hadn't. But right now I was worried about Sam's mental state, if she could handle talking to her mother. The last thing her mother had said to her, in my presence, was 'I should have had an abortion.' I knew that hurt her, a lot. There was no telling what else she'd say to her today. I hoped my baby could handle it, but if she couldn't I'd be there to put her back together when she and Brad got back.

"Brad said they'd meet us back at the studio, to just go and wait for them," Carly said softly. "I kinda want to go find Mel."

I shook my head. "Leave it alone, Carly. Just let Sam handle it. They need to fix what's going on between us. We can't meddle in this one."

"Yeah, I know," she replied. "Let's go."

~*Sam*~

I squirmed a bit in the uncomfortable metal chair, staring at the plate glass in front of me. I never thought in a million years I'd be doing this. I never wanted to see my mother again, but I was doing this for Melanie. I had to get to the bottom of things.

A moment later, I saw her, in her orange jumpsuit, no makeup, hair unbrushed. She looked miserable, a blank, emptiness in her eyes. She sat down in front of me, glaring, and we both reached for the phones at the same time.

"Well, well, well," my mother said. "Look who it is."

"Wow, mom, I didn't recognize you without all the track marks in your arms or your eyes half-shut," I responded icily. No use in being nice now. "Orange is a nice color on you. How's it going in there?"

She sneered at me. "Great, it was a nice little break away from you, but oh look, you're back again," she said flatly. "It's probably only a matter of time before you join me in here. It's cute how you follow in my footsteps."

I shook my head, smiling at her. "No. I put all that crazy stuff behind me. I mean, I am married now, which is somewhere you never got, right?" She glared wordlessly, and I continued. "Freddie and I are really happy together. He loves me, and I love him. But I didn't come here to talk about me. I came here to talk about Mel."

"What about her?" my mom responded flatly, sounding uninterested. I didn't miss that. Maybe my mom only compared me to Melanie all the time to mess with my head, not because she cared about her.

"Tell me about Joey."

"Joey? Joey...Joey..." my mom repeated the name over and over, as if to jog her memory, and I rolled my eyes. The woman had been involved with so many men throughout her life she couldn't keep them all straight.

"Your former fiance? When Melanie and I were ten. Right before she left for boarding school!"

"Oh, that one," my mom said breezily. "What do you wanna know? He was pretty nice. He really tried with you, you know, but you wouldn't let him get anywhere near you."

"What did he do to my sister, mom?" I snapped. "You know something, TELL ME!"

"Joey was the perfect father figure to Melanie. He cared about her so much, he loved what a good girl she was. Unlike you," she said cuttingly. "I don't remember much, but...he was always hugging her, and holding her in his lap...and then she'd have nightmares and he'd go check on her..."

"Melanie never had nightmares, mom," I said, a sick feeling welling up in the pit of my stomach.

"Of course, everything changed, after..." my mom trailed off. "Melanie was always a perfect daughter, but I gotta say, kid, at least you didn't inherit that slutty streak. Not until Bill came around, anyway. Then you started throwing yourself at him. But I guess Melanie got an early start."

I stared at her, shocked. "You can't be that stupid! A ten year old girl doesn't even know what it means to throw herself at someone! You think she was trying to...with Joey?"

"Oh, I know she was. That's why it was such a relief when she got that scholarship to that fancy school. I didn't have to worry about that anymore."

"So..." I stated, stammering a bit. "You just...got rid of her."

"I tried to get rid of you too, you little brat, but you just weren't good enough. No school in their right mind would take your delinquent ass!"

"I'm not the one sitting on the other side of the glass, mother. Watch who you're calling a delinquent." I stood up suddenly. "You are a sick, sick fuck! You deserve to be in there! It's your fault Melanie is the way she is now!"

"You don't even talk to Melanie anymore," my mom stated. "She doesn't want anything to do with you."

I shook my head. "No, mom. Mel's back. And she will. Enjoy prison." I left the phone just hanging there, and walked away without looking back, ignoring the pounding sound I heard my mom making on the glass with her fist.

I'd fucked up bad. I'd completely misjudged my sister. She wasn't perfect. It was an act. And it wasn't the kind of act designed to hurt other people, it was an act she'd kept up to protect herself. She'd tried her hardest to fix things with me, and I just kept pushing her away. Everyone had pushed her away. I felt so bad for her. I had Freddie, but who did Melanie have? No one. She didn't even have her own place to stay, just Carly's little futon.

I walked out of the prison entrance into the parking lot, where Brad was just sitting on the hood of the car. He looked antsy and deep in thought, but it was probably just something to do with Carly.

"Hey," I said, and he looked up, getting to his feet.

"Hey," he responded. "So?"

I nodded. "It's what we though. Call Carly, tell her we're on the way back."

Brad shrugged, picking up his phone, then paused. "Wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head, climbing into the passenger seat. "No offense, but not to you."

"Freddie?"

"No," I replied. "I need to talk to Melanie."

Brad nodded, firing up the engine. "Then let's go back to Bushwell, so you can talk to Melanie."

We sat in silence for a few moments as we drove down the road, before Brad nudged me in the shoulder. I looked up at him, slightly annoyed.

"What?"

"Melanie's lucky to have you as a sister, you know."

I had to laugh. "You're probably the only person who will ever say that."

He shook his head. "Nah. She'll say it too. After you fix things."

"I hope so," I sighed, laying my head back and trying to steady myself for the difficult conversation I knew would be coming at me. I hoped she wouldn't hate me forever. She was just as broken as I was, and because of that fact alone, I couldn't hate her anymore.


	51. Chapter 51: One and One is Two

**A/N: Kind of a short chapter, but just wrapping some stuff up before diving headfirst into the next batch of drama. Pssh, you think I'd quit any time soon? **

**Chapter Fifty One:**  
><strong>One and One Is Two<strong>

~*Freddie*~

I paced back and forth across the floor of the studio anxiously. "Where are they?" I snapped at Carly.

"Relax! It's been almost an hour since I talked to Brad, they'll be here!" Carly replied. "Sam probably forgot to charge her phone or something."

I grunted, continuing to pace. I hated when Sam did shit like this, just disappear without any notice. It reminded me of when she ran off to Vegas and left me alone and heartbroken for three weeks. That was the longest I'd ever been away from her, and all twenty one days of it were absolutely heart-breaking. I'd lose my mind if she ever left me again.

I was broken out of my thoughts by the studio door opening, revealing Brad and Sam. Brad pretty much fell into one of the beanbags, rolling his eyes as Carly began chiding him for running off and not telling her. I ignored them, my gaze focusing on my Sam. I was fully prepared to yell at her for not letting me know what was going on, but the look on her face was so sad. Her arms were wrapped around her shoulders, looking down at the ground. She looked so small and helpless when she did that. I approached her cautiously, but she didn't lift her head.

"Baby?" I said hesitantly. "What happened?"

She wouldn't answer me, but I didn't miss the fact that her jaw was trembling a bit, like she was holding back tears.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my hands rubbing up and down her arms. She shrugged. I turned to Carly, who was still yelling at Brad. "Carly. Carly? CARLY!" I hollered, snapping her out of her tirade. She looked up at me, still pissed.

"What?"

"Gonna use your room, be back in a few," I responded. She nodded, before turning back to Brad. I grabbed Sam's arm and led her downstairs, opening the door to Carly's room. She flopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, arms still wrapped around herself. I laid down next to her, shifting her a bit so she was laying on her side facing me, my arms going around her.

"Baby, my sweet sweet baby, tell me what happened," I whispered in her ear. "What did she say to you? Did she hurt you?"

Sam shook her head, cuddling into me. I could tell she wanted me to hold her tighter, so I did.

"She can't hurt me anymore. I'm immune to it," she replied. "Because of you." She paused. "But she hurt Melanie. And she let other people hurt Melanie. And I hurt Melanie."

"What happened, baby?"

Sam took a deep, shaky breath before bursting into tears. I rubbed her back comfortingly, kissing her forehead, trying to calm her down.

"I should have seen it, Freddie. I mean, I do now...there were signs. But...I didn't do anything. I was so jealous of her, and it got in the way of seeing anything. She got hurt too...that bastard...he...oh my god." she started to cry again, and I knew exactly what she was talking about. "And my mom just sent her away! Oh my god..."

"Shhh, baby," I whispered. "It's not your fault. You were just a little girl. What could you have done?"

She shook her head. "I don't know...I could have been there for her. Instead I just...I pushed her away more, left her alone to fend for herself. I'm a horrible person!"

"No, you're not, baby. I promise you you're not. You're a wonderful person. We all mistakes," I responded, tilting her head up to look at me. "Look at me. This isn't your fault, okay? The only thing you can do now is talk to her, be there for her now. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. I'll try, but...she was so angry at me. She choke-slammed me, Freddie!"

Whoa. Somebody had choke-slammed Sam, and gotten away with it? When my eyebrows went up, she shrugged.

"She's a Puckett, what do you expect?"

I smirked a little at that, before kissing her. "No more blaming yourself, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. I gotta go find her and talk to her, and we should probably get out of Carly's room before she thinks we're doing it."

"Or before we actually start doing it," I teased, making her laugh.

"Or that," she responded, sitting up. She stared at me for a second so intensely I didn't want to get up, just laid there and stared right back at her. "I love you. I wouldn't be the same without you. I wish Mel had someone in her life like you."

I sat up, kissing her. "I love you too, baby. Your sister will find someone eventually, but right now you can just there for her, as her sister." I paused, thinking for a second. "Why don't you get Carly to text her or something? Pull a sneak attack on her."

She nodded, thinking. "Okay," she finally said. She grabbed my arms and pulled me into a sitting position. "Let's go."

~*Sam*~

"Come on, Melanie!" I heard Carly whine. I knew Carly was trying to get her to come upstairs, but Melanie wasn't as dumb as we all thought she was. She knew exactly what was up.

"I don't want to deal with Sam, Carly!" Melanie yelled. I heard some yelling and what sounded like someone running, before a shrieking noise.

"PUT ME DOWN!" That was the next thing I heard. I rolled my eyes as I watched Carly fling the studio door open with Brad right behind her, Melanie thrown over his shoulder. He set her down on the ground and she punched him in the chest, glaring at him. Brad ignored her...and glared at me!

"I am way too invested in this thing, Sam! She kicked me in places I don't like being kicked in!"

"If I could reach I'd kick you in your head!" she growled. Yeah, we were definitely related. She spun around to look at me, before turning and walking towards the door. Freddie brushed past me, grabbing Melanie's arm and jerking her back.

"Nope!" he said. "You two are gonna talk this thing out, right now!"

"Mind your own business, Freddie!" Melanie snapped.

"This is my business!" he snapped right back. He pointed at me. "That girl over there IS my business. She is my life. So deal with it!" he responded, ushering Carly and Brad out of the studio, before looking at me. "We'll be downstairs, okay? Be nice...both of you!" He shook his finger at both of us, and we both rolled our eyes at him at the same time. He gave us a freaked-out look. "And don't do that again, it's creepy."

With that, he shut the door behind us, leaving me and Melanie alone to stare at each other.

"I don't want to talk to you," Melanie said. "Not after that shit you pulled in the hallway."

"So don't talk," I replied. "Just listen."

Melanie scoffed. "Why should I listen to you?"

"I went to the prison today. To talk to Mom," I responded, making her stare at me in shock. "I'm sorry, Mel. I didn't see it. Everything that happened. I honestly didn't know. I was too blinded by my own stupid emotions. I was so damn jealous of you...maybe I still am a little."

Melanie just stared at me for a moment, before speaking. "Why on earth would you be jealous of ME, Sam?"

"Why not?" I yelled. "Look at you! You're sweet and perfect and you get amazing grades and everyone likes you. You're good at everything you do!"

"And you don't care what people think of you! And you're funny and you get away with bloody murder!" Melanie responded. "I would give anything to be the way you are, Sam! You think I like myself? I don't! I'm just a complete mess who pretends to be perfect! And a slut."

"Mel! You're not a slut, you're just...well...you're..." I gave up, when she looked at me pointedly. "Okay, we're not talking about that! But why the hell would you want to be like ME? Are you nuts?"

"You have this amazing webshow, you're like a mini-celebrity, Sam! And you have an amazing husband who loves you! I'm just a little fuck-toy that boys throw away when they're done with me. And you have the most weird but incredible friends who would do anything for you! At least you have that! What do I have? Nothing!"

"That's not true, Mel," I responded, choking up a little. "You have me."

Melanie looked confused. "You hate me!"

I shook my head profusely. "I don't hate you, I hate who I thought you were, Melanie. You're my sister! It was just us in the beginning, two against the world, what happened to that?"

Melanie shrugged. "It became us against each other. I don't know. I started hanging out with the gymnast girls, you met Carly...we just grew apart. And mom just made it worse. Remember how she threatened to beat us if we didn't rat out the other one?"

"Yeah, I do. I never ratted you out, Mel. Not one time," I said, looking at the ground. I'd gotten some pretty severe beatings over the years for refusing to give up information on my sister, but I wasn't a rat, even if I hated her at the time. Melanie had never been able to do the same for me, but I couldn't hold it against her anymore.

"I know," she said softly. "I'm sorry we went for so long without talking."

I nodded. "Me too."

"And I'm sorry I kissed Freddie the last time I was here, but he did think I was you. But I didn't know you liked him back then."

I laughed. "I don't think I knew that I liked him back then. It's okay. Just don't do it again. I'd have to kill you."

"You don't think he'd be into both of us at the same time?" Melanie asked with a grin, sticking her tongue out.

"Melanie! That's disgusting!" I laughed, shoving her a little bit. We both stopped laughing and stared at each other for a minute, totally serious.

"I'm glad you're back," I said, drawing her into a hug. She hugged me back, and I could tell she was crying a little bit. "It'll be okay, Mel. We're fine. And you can...you know. Talk to someone about all this other stuff. I don't want to bring it up too much."

"I know," Melanie nodded against my shoulder. "I hate that we wasted this long hating each other." We pulled apart, and I gave her a smile.

"Well, look on the bright side, Mel. We're only sixteen. We have plenty of time."

"We're only sixteen for another week, idiot!" Melanie said, poking me. My eyes widened. Oh, holy shit. I'd completely forgotten my birthday, our birthday, was right around the corner!

"Oh god, we HAVE to throw a double party!" I said.

"Yeah, a hardcore, serious rager!" she replied, and we grinned at each other. It was like we were five again.

"Okay, I guess we should probably go downstairs. Wanna go hang out at the Groovie Smoothie?" I asked her. She gave me a weak look, shaking her head.

"I can't. I have cheer practice. Later, though?"

"Sure," I replied. "I gotta go log some 'quality time' with Freddie anyway." I made air quotes with my fingers, and she gave me a mischievous look.

"Lucky you. I'm gonna go to practice and then try to log quality time with one of the other girls' boyfriends."

"Mel! You can't do that!" I said. "That's so bad!"

"Yeah, but it feels good to be bad," she responded breezily, sounding oddly like me. "I'll see ya later, sis!" With that, she opened the studio door, then stopped suddenly. "By the way, I found out what you wanted me to find out, and then some."

My eyebrows went up. "Really? Tell me!"

"Ask nicely," she responded with a smirk, and I groaned.

"Fine, please tell me, Melanie," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Now tell me I'm you're favorite sister."

"You're my only sister, retard!"

"Come on, boost my ego," she said with a smile.

"Fine, you're my favorite sister. Now tell me what you know."

She sat down on the desk, her legs crossed. "Okay. The whole 'spousal abuse' thing, that came from that christian activist group. I'm sure they meant well, but...yeah. No comment. But, what you should really be interested in is the whole pregnancy watch site."

I gasped. "I knew it was someone from Ridgeway! Tell me!"

"Well, you know how Patrice and Kristen tend to rule everything around them? And get everything they want with a little shake of their boobs?"

I was confused. "Well, yeah, but...they're way too stupid for that, Melanie."

Melanie just shook her head, grinning at me. "Why don't you have Freddie ask his buddies in the A/V club about it?" She hopped down suddenly. "I'll see you later!"

Oh man, I was seething with rage. I wanted to break Patrice's neck. I stormed down the stairs, to where Carly and Freddie were sitting.

"Hey!" Carly said, standing up, but her face changed suddenly as she noticed mine. "You're mad. Why are you mad? I thought you guys worked it out..."

"We did," I replied. "Freddie, get up, we gotta talk."

"What the hell did I do?" he whined.

"Nothing, yet. It's what you're going to do," I responded. He looked confused, and I just grabbed his arm, yanking him up. I turned to Carly. "Where'd your boyfriend go?"

Carly sighed. "He got a really pissed off call from his dad. He's at his apartment."

"Why, what happened?"

"We don't know," Freddie responded. "He wouldn't tell us. I hope his sister didn't rat him out."

"If she did I want my damn giftcards back!" I growled. I started pulling Freddie towards the door. "Come on, baby, we gotta go discuss our new revenge plan."

"For who?" Freddie asked, his brows furrowed.

"For the owners of the pregnancy watch website. Melanie figured it out."

Freddie's eyes widened. "Okay, let's go."

"We'll see you later, Carly!" I called as I opened the door.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about me!" Carly yelled. "I'll just sit here, by myself!"

I looked at her, exasperated. "Carly, seriously? I'm not leaving you out. Freddie and I have other things to 'talk about' before we talk about the other stuff. Get it?"

"Oh. Ohhh," Carly said, nodding. "Yeah, I don't wanna see that."

I smirked at her. "Liar," I responded, before pushing Freddie out the door.


	52. Chapter 52: Come and Get It

**A/N: Ugh, this chapter took forever to finish, I blame it solely on a lack of caffeine. Very naughty lemon in this one, Sam tries to teach Freddie a lesson and it doesn't go quite the way she wanted it to...and the beginning of the revenge. Also this is a very-dialogue centered chapter, didn't notice until I began reading over it. My bad, I tend to do that sometimes.**

**Chapter Fifty Two:  
><strong>**Come and Get It**

~*Brad*~

"Have you LOST YOUR MIND?" my dad yelled at me as he paced back and forth across the apartment. I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the sofa, as I watched my dad go postal.

"Straighten up," he said, glaring at me, and I begrudgingly sat up straight, glaring right back at him.

"How could you skip two classes AND your interview?" my dad hollered. "It's that girl, isn't it? It's that stupid webshow!"

I stood up suddenly, pissed off. "This has nothing to do with Carly!" I yelled. "I wasn't even with her today!"

"Then what, Bradley? How could you be so irresponsible? This is your future! You can't just throw it all away!"

"I don't WANT it, Dad! The Marines are NOT my future! I am not joining the military, I'm not going to be a cop, I'm not going to be anything like you!" I screamed. "I don't want to be like you! I -"

I was completely caught off-guard when he reached forward and grabbed me by my shirt collar, yanking me to him.

"When the rep comes back in October, you WILL go to that interview," he growled. "And you're going to the academy."

"And if I don't?" I responded.

"Then you can forget about your girlfriend, your friends, your school. I'll rip you right out of school and you'll spend the rest of your senior year in a military high school."

He was still holding me by my shirt collar, and I ripped his arm away. "You are not going to do that. I am finally somewhere good with real friends and doing something I love! And you are NOT GOING TO TAKE ME AWAY FROM CARLY!"

"Then go to the interview. And don't even think about screwing it up."

"Fine!" I growled. "I'll go to the damn interview!" I pushed past him, heading for my room, before turning around and glaring at him. "Guess we're back to you ruining my life again?"

"I'm not ruining your life, Bradley. You giving up an opportunity like this to follow some pipe dream about being a filmmaker, that'd be ruining your life."

"You just don't get it," I replied, before walking into my room and slamming the door. I laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling, absolutely furious.

I had to deal with either losing Carly right away or losing her when I had to go away and start school in New York. I didn't want either one, but I had to at least take what time I had left with her.

~*Freddie*~

"Dude what's going on with you?" I asked Brad between push-ups.

Brad looked at me from his spot on the floor next to me. "What do you mean?"

"You've been acting weird the last few days. What's up?"

"My dad's being a dick," Brad replied. "How many you got?"

"Ninety-four. You?"

"Ninety-eight. What's the matter, Benson, can't keep up?" Brad teased, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Why's your dad being a dick?" I replied, ignoring what he'd just said.

Brad rolled his eyes, continuing to be push ups. "He was just born that way. You gonna keep pretending to be a therapist, or are you gonna step it up and keep up with me?" He grunted.

I glared at him. Okay. He wants to gloss over the issue and be an asshole, I can deal with that. I just stared at him, before throwing an arm behind my back and doing push-ups with one arm.

"Let's see who can't keep up now," I replied.

"Dude," Brad complained. "That's not fair, you have mutant arms."

"Whatever," I replied, switching arms just to piss him off. He rolled his eyes, making a disgusted noise. I finally stopped, rising to my feet. "You know you're freaking Carly out a little, right?"

Brad sighed, giving up push-ups and stood up as well. "I'm not trying to freak her out. Look, I don't really want to talk about it. Not until I figure this out. No offense."

"Can you just give me a hint?"

"You're starting to sound like Carly and Sam," Brad commented. "Fine. Major arguments around the house about where I'm supposed to go to school."

"Oh..." I trailed off, finally getting it. "I'm guessing somewhere far away from Seattle?"

"Yep. Like the other side of the country. Don't say anything to Carly. Or SAM. She'll just rat me out."

"Sam doesn't usually do that, but alright. I won't say anything. But you gotta quit acting so damn removed, the girls are getting suspicious."

"Of course they are," Brad grumbled. He looked down at his watch. "Hour's up."

I groaned. "Seriously, dude?"

"I promised Sam," he replied with a shrug. "And I don't feel like getting hit, so let's go."

"Brad, I'm not done yet!" I growled. This whole 'keep an eye on Freddie at the gym' thing was getting way out of hand.

"Fine," Brad responded, grabbing his phone off the weight bench our phones were setting on. He started dialing. Oh, shit.

"Dude, really?" I barked at him, but he just held his hand up, like he was trying to quiet me down. He started speaking in the phone a moment later. "Yo, Sam. Fredward needs a little motivation getting out of the gym. Yup. Thanks." He clicked off, smirking at me, and I shook my head.

"That's not cool, man," I responded. Brad just shrugged.

A minute later, my phone beeped at me. Text message. I groaned, picking the phone up. I'm in trouble now. I noticed it was a picture message, and I opened it, my eyes widening. Damn. That's quite a close-up. Another text showed up right behind it, and I read it, smirking a little bit.

Sam: Get your ass home right now. I'm being bad again.

"Alright, I'm done, let's go," I said, walking right past him.

"What'd it say?" he asked as he hurried to catch up with me.

"Well, the first text was a picture. The second one was telling me to get home."

"Ohhh...wow I guess she gave up threatening you, huh?"

"Yeah. This works better. Way better," I replied.

Brad and I went out separate ways, him to Carly's, and mine back to my apartment. I unlocked my door, walking in. "Sam!" I called. "I'm back."

Sam walked out of our room a moment later, just staring at me. I stared right back.

"So you were being bad?" I asked her, advancing towards her.

She shrugged. "From what I hear, you were the one being bad."

I stopped suddenly. Dammit, she'd baited me!

"Sam, that's not fair!" I yelled. "You can't send me pictures like that and then yank the rug out from under me when I get home."

She crossed the room quickly, her hand going to the back of my neck and pulling my mouth to hers, biting my lip.

"Shut up," she responded before biting my neck, bringing her hand down between us to grab me roughly at the same time. I groaned, and she grabbed the belt loops on my pants with both hands, walking backwards to our room. Uh-oh. I was in for it.

She let go of me to shut the door, before turning around and pushing me down into my desk chair, climbing into my lap.

"How come you don't listen to me?" she asked as she ripped my shirt off over my head. I sighed, deciding to play her game, just to see what would happen.

"I don't know, baby," I responded, sighing as she ran her hands up my chest. She ground her hips down on me, and my hands went to her hips, but she suddenly slapped my hands away.

"Hands off," she growled. "In fact, put your hands behind your head."

I hesitated for a moment, and she glared at me before raking her nails down my chest. I hissed in pain, and she grabbed my chin, forcing me to look her in the eye. "Do it, baby."

I acquiesced, my hands going behind my head, fingers laced together. She kissed me softly, continuing to grind down on me. "Much better," she responded. She started kissing my neck, her tongue tracing a trail around to my throat before nipping at it. She stood up suddenly, pulling her shirt and bra off, before climbing back on me. I groaned as I felt her bare breasts slide over my chest.

"Don't move," she said, leaning back a bit and running her hands over her chest. I groaned, the sight of her doing that to herself turning me on. She felt how much she was getting to me, and she smiled mischievously. "Getting excited?" she teased, running her hands down my chest.

"Yeah."

She stood up again, pulling off the shorts she was wearing, along with her boyshorts before straddling me again. Now she was in my lap completely naked, grinding down on me, driving me crazy.

"You wanna touch me, don't you?" she asked as she leaned forward, nibbling on my ear a bit.

"Oh yeah..." I said, my hands coming down from behind my head, but she grabbed my wrists so hard it hurt, jerking them back behind my head.

"Don't move," she hissed. "I didn't tell you to do that, did I?"

I didn't respond, and she reached down to grab me through my jeans, making me moan.

"Answer me. Did I tell you to do that?"

"No," I choked out. "Damn, baby..."

"Shut up," she responded, her hand going over my mouth. She let go and leaned back again, her hands running down her body. I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head as she began rubbing herself while sitting on my lap. God she was so hot.

"Bet you wish you were the one doing this, huh baby?" she taunted me.

"Yeah..." I trailed off, unable to look away. She stopped suddenly, reaching down to unzip my jeans, pulling my manhood out and stroking me. I groaned, leaning my head back. "Jesus, Sam..." My eyes rolled back into my head as I felt her start rubbing herself against my dick.

"You gonna do what I say next time?"

"Yes," I groaned, using every ounce of willpower I had in me not to just grab her and throw her on the bed.

"You sure?"

"Yes...fuck...you're such a little tease."

"Tell me." she said, grabbing my head to force me to look at her. God, this was so hot...she was screwed when I got my hands on her.

"Next time I'll do what you say," I grunted.

"Now tell me you're sorry," she replied, leaning forward to bite my shoulder. I gritted my teeth, and she tightened her grip on me even more, pumping me up and down slowly.

"Ah, shit!" I hissed.

"Tell me you're sorry, and you'll do what I say next time," she said. "Or you'll really be sorry."

"I'm sorry!" I moaned. "I'll do what you say next time!"

She let go of me, before kissing me on my forehead. "Good boy," she responded, before suddenly lifting her hips up, and the next thing I felt was me sliding inside her. Oh, my god. She felt so warm and wet and tight.

"Damn, baby!" I moaned. Alright, fuck this. My turn now. I grabbed her tight little ass and stood up, before carrying her over to the bed, laying her back and thrusting deep inside her.

"Aah, fuck!" she cried out. "Not fair!"

"Too bad," I responded. "You shouldn't have let your guard down."

She growled at me, trying to shove at my shoulders to roll me over, but I wasn't having it. I grabbed her legs, wrapping them around me, and started moving in and out of her at a furious pace.

"What makes you think you're in control all of a sudden?" I growled, my head going down to lick at her sensitive collarbone. "Answer me!"

"Aaah...I don't know..." she cried out as I moved my hips in a circle, driving her crazy. "Was trying...to get...you...to..aaah!" her arms gripped at my shoulders as I thrust into her hard suddenly.

"I know, and I'll listen to you, believe me," I said, licking her neck. "But next time you'd better be prepared to deal with the consequences. Got it?"

"Yes!" she cried out. "I got it!"

"You love this, don't you Sam?" I taunted her, smirking as she moved her hips against me frantically.

"Yes...god I love it."

"What do you like better?" I grunted, grinding against her. "You in control, or me in control?"

"You!" she gasped. "I like it better when you're in control!" I could feel her legs shaking, and she started jerking uncontrollably.

"Don't forget it," I said as I reached between us to rub at her. She gave up, arching her back, and I felt her walls shudder around me.

"Aaah! Freddie! Fuck!" she cried out, her eyes rolling back into head.

"Mmm, you're so fucking sexy," I murmured in her ear. "Wanna go for two?"

She moaned pitifully, but I ignored her, continuing to move against her. It seemed like ever since we had our little conversation the other day, we'd been manhandling each other even more severely. I had to be honest, I loved what she did to me in that chair, but I couldn't let her know it. She dominated every other part of our relationship, and I was happy to let her, but this? No way, this was mine.

"You want me to stop?" I growled in her ear. "You want me to let you take over? Say the word, and I will."

She didn't answer me, and I reached underneath us to rub at her again, making her cry out and grap fistfuls of sheets.

"Baby, you want me to stop and let you have this one?" I asked her again.

"No!" she gasped out. I smiled victoriously.

"Guess I win again," I replied, kissing her back. She moaned, but it turned into a growl when my words registered. She suddenly pushed herself up, surprising me, before scooting forward and turning around, suddenly tackling me and knocking me off balance. Both of us fell off the bed, her landing on top of me.

"Oof!" I grunted, the wind being knocked out of me.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," I responded, trying to sit up, but she shoved me back down on the ground.

"Not for much longer," she replied, bending down to bite my neck and bringing her hips down so I was inside her again.

"Fuck," I hissed, my hands going to her hips and pulling her against me. "You're fighting dirty again, baby."

"Yeah?" she responded. "Do something about it." She grabbed me by the back of the head and kissed me passionately.

I growled, sitting back up to regain control, but she just locked her legs around my waist, moving in a slow grind against me and licking up my neck to my ear, her nails raking down my back. I groaned, burying my face in her shoulder.

"Feels like you're gonna give, baby," she taunted me. "How long can you last, anyway?" I grabbed her hips suddenly and stood up, putting her down on the bed again.

"All night, baby," I responded, slamming into her again.

~*Carly*~

"No way, Mel," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"But Carly! Come on! It's me and Sam's birthday, we gotta have a party here!" Melanie cried.

"Nope. Too much drama happened the last time we did that. For one thing, Gibby lost his pants, and then Spencer found him six hours later inside our kitchen cabinet passed out."

"Oh, come on! What are the chances of THAT happening again?"

"With Gibby? Very high," Brad put in. I nodded fervently, you just couldn't trust that kid around alcohol.

"Pleeeeeease?" Melanie gave me puppy-dog eyes, and I shook my head.

"Forget it."

"Ugh!" Melanie threw her hands up. "I'll get you to agree somehow, Carly! Mark my words!"

"Consider them marked," I replied with a shrug.

Melanie perched on the edge of the coffee table, flipping through her phone. "Sam's not answering my texts, or my calls."

"Uh, yeah, she started sending Freddie photos while we were at the gym. I don't think you'll be hearing from her for the rest of the night," Brad replied. He turned to me. "Carly, wanna go for a drive?"

I nodded, standing up. "Let me get my coat." I turned to Melanie. "So everything's set up for tomorrow, right?"

"Oh yeah," Melanie said with a grin. "If Brad has the cajones to go through with his part."

"Pssh, I got it. Don't worry about it." Brad said with a roll of his eyes. He'd been making a bit more of an effort to be nicer to Melanie now that we all knew what we did, but there was still a certain level of animosity between them. It was almost funny how he and Sam were like brother and sister, but Sam's actual flesh and blood sister, he could barely stand to be around.

"I still can't believe Sam agreed to this plan," I said, shaking my head.

"I can't believe YOU agreed to it," Brad said. "And I don't know how I got pulled in either."

I shrugged. "I'm not worried about it."

"Good," Brad said with a smile, giving me a kiss. "You ready?"

"Yep," I replied, opening my front door. "Let's go. Later, Mel!"

Brad and I walked out into the hallway and I shut the door behind us. We suddenly heard a loud bang coming from Sam and Freddie's, and I looked over at Brad, rolling my eyes.

"They're really killing each other tonight."

"Yeah, unless that's Freddie's mom and Dr. Robert," Brad pointed out.

"Ew," I shuddered. "Come on...let's get out of here!"

~*Sam*~

"Is this part really necessary?" I whined to Melanie from the stall of the girls' bathroom.

"Yes, it's absolutely necessary, now get out of there so I can see!" Melanie called.

"How the hell do you wear this thing? It's crushing my boobs!"

"Just get out here!" she yelled. "You're wasting time!"

I sighed, looking down at the get-up I was wearing and immediately looking back up. I never wanted to see this evil thing on me again! I took a deep breath and unlatched the stall, walking out. Melanie gaped at me.

"Whoa. Alternate universe. It looks good though..." she started, and I held my hand up.

"Shut up," I growled. "After today, we NEVER speak of this again, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," she replied. "Aw, look Sam, we look like twins!"

"We are twins!" I snapped, rolling my eyes. I looked in the bathroom mirror and grimaced at what I saw. Mel was right, we looked exactly the same. I couldn't believe I was doing this.

We'd finally figured out how to really get revenge on Patrice, Kristen, and the A/V nerds, and damn it was going to be a good one. I'd been bouncing in my seat all day just waiting for the bell to ring. Unfortunately, the plan required me to be in a cheerleading uniform, and just looking at myself I wanted to throw up.

"Hold on, I wanna see something," Melanie said, walking to the door and opening it. "Freddie!" she called out. "Get in here!"

Freddie stuck his head in the door, before pushing the door open and sneaking in, locking the door behind him so no girls would walk in and see him in there. "Whoa," he said, looking at us in our matching outfits. "That's freaky."

"So tell us who's who, nub," Melanie said, putting her hands on her hips. She was imitating my tone of voice and posture exactly, trying to throw him off. I looked at Freddie. I was a little curious myself.

Freddie rolled his eyes, smirking. "This is my Sam," he replied matter-of-factly, pulling me into his arms. I was shocked, he barely had to look at us.

"How'd you know that?" I asked.

"You have a tiny freckle right under your left eyebrow. And your eyes have a little green in them. Hers don't," he replied. I couldn't help but smile, he knew me inside and out. "Come on, you think I don't know my baby?"

I kissed him softly before pulling away. "So what do you think?" I asked, gesturing to my outfit. He eyed me critically.

"You want to kill yourself right now, don't you?" he responded.

"If I had a gun I'd blow my brains out," I shot back. He laughed.

"Don't do that, baby," he responded. "Okay, where's Brad and Carly?"

"Carly's hiding out in the locker room. Brad's in the gym," Melanie replied. "God, this is going to be epic!" she bounced up and down excitedly.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" I asked. "What if they don't bite?"

Freddie snorted. "Please. Jeremy and Shawn harbor sick fantasies of hooking up with cheerleaders. All dorks do."

I rolled my eyes. "I am so glad you're not a dork anymore."

"You don't think I'm a dork?" Freddie said brightly, making me roll my eyes again.

"We've been over this. You're not a dork. You've been upgraded to nerd."

"Very funny," Freddie grumbled. "Okay, let's do this."

"Ready, Mel?" I asked her.

"Oh yeah." She looked at me carefully. "Maybe you should consider joining the squad..."

"Don't ever say that again," I warned her. She shrugged.

"It was just a suggestion. Okay, let's go!" She unlocked the door and walked out, with me and Freddie walking behind her. Melanie went one way down the hall, and Freddie and I went in the opposite direction, so as not to draw attention.

"Okay, I'm gonna go camp out in front of the A/V room and wait for Melanie to lure Shawn out. Just wait a few lockers down so he doesn't see you," Freddie said.

"No problem," I responded. "So, let me ask you, seeing me in this outfit doesn't make you want to...you know?"

He shook his head, wrinkling his nose a bit. "Nah. Too much like Melanie."

I smiled, pressing against him quickly and giving him a package a quick squeeze. "You'll be rewarded for that later. Have fun." With that, I walked away, leaving him standing alone in the hallway watching me.


	53. Chapter 53: Get Back

**A/N: Yay, revenge! **

**Chapter Fifty Three:  
><strong>**Get Back**

~*Freddie*~

I leaned against the wall next to the A/V room, waiting for Melanie to walk up, getting slightly impatient. It was mostly nervous energy; I knew this plan would go off like a shot, but there was always a slight chance something could go wrong. I really DIDN'T like the idea of some other dude with his hands on my wife, but it was integral to the plan, and it was definitely going to pay off.

I was so pissed at Shawn and Jeremy. True, I hadn't really had much to do with them in a long time, but I was at least under the impression that we were sort-of friends. I didn't think all it would take was a couple of dumb girls with empty promises to convince them to set up a website that had caused so much drama for Sam and I on the internet AND at school. Those dorks had set it up brilliantly, the site could only be taken down from the computer it was set up on, and it had firewalls and honeypots all over the damn thing. That's why I hadn't been able to take the stupid thing down. But it'd all come to a head today, as soon as they left their computers behind to go make out with a cheerleader (or so they thought), I was going to give the site one hell of an update. Just had to go and help Brad finish off his part of the plan.

Finally Melanie walked by, giving me a grin, before opening the door and walking in. I peered through the small glass window to see her working her magic on Shawn, and not even two minutes later she was leading him out the door by his shirt collar.

The idiot actually had the nerve to give me the thumbs up! I gave him one right back, pretending to be excited for him, before rolling my eyes. One dork down, one to go.

Three minutes later, Sam came walking up. She was moving slow and awkwardly, like she wasn't used to the outfit at all, and supremely uncomfortable in it as well. She finally reached the door and then looked at me.

"This thing is squeezing my boobs!" she hissed at me.

"Shh!" I warned her, my finger going to my lips. "Just do it, Sam!"

She rolled her eyes. "Do I have to touch him?"

"You're wasting time!" I reminded her, and her head hung down pitifully before opening the door. I peered through the glass to see what was going on.

Okay, I didn't like this. I knew it was all an act, but watching my wife put her hands on Jeremy, his hands on her waist...I wanted to bust open the door right then and punch him. But that wasn't going to help. I wished I could understand what they were saying. I moved away from the door as I saw Sam take Jeremy's hand and begin dragging him towards the door. It creaked open, and she exited first, before pulling Jeremy out with her.

"Dude!" Jeremy said excitedly to me, "She decided she liked me better than Shawn! I am so in!"

I nodded. "Looks like it, have fun," I responded. I waited for Sam to round the corner with Jeremy before sneaking into the A/V room. It took me only a few seconds to guess the password on Shawn's laptop. It was the six letter medical term for a certain part of a woman's anatomy. Really creative, Shawn, I thought, rolling my eyes. He'd probably never even seen one, at least not in real life.

"Okay, let's see..." I muttered to myself. I logged in to the ftp and quickly dismantled the honeypot so I could edit the site from my own computer, before going through the files and deleting everything, then changing the passwords. Finally I created a blank html file to sit on the homepage. Just a placeholder for now. I looked down at my watch. Ooh, time to haul ass to the gym.

I ran down the hallway and around the corner to see Melanie and Sam leaning against the door to the janitor's closet, looking very pleased with themselves.

"I take it everything went according to plan?" I asked Sam.

"Mmmhmmm," she responded, holding up a pile of Jeremy's clothes. Melanie did the same with Shawn's, grinning victoriously. "They're not going anywhere."

"Yeah, you really learn a lot of useful things about knot-tying in girl scouts," Melanie commented.

"Awesome. How long are you gonna leave them in there?"

"Uh, the janitor's gotta come back sometime," Sam replied. "Can I go change now? I can feel my soul being leached out through my skin as we speak."

"Yeah baby, go change," I responded, kissing her on her forehead. "Gotta go finish this off."

"Okay," she replied. She looked up at me suddenly, pointing at me. "Don't get too carried away, you got me? If I find out it went too far I will break your arm!"

I laughed. "I got you, baby. Go change. I'll see you in a little while."

I walked past them, laughing to myself as I heard Melanie tell Sam how she should consider going as a cheerleader for Halloween, heading for the gym. I pushed the double doors open, walking in, standing there for a second and observing. The cheerleaders were in the middle of practice, but they'd be done soon. I scanned the bleachers quickly, my eyes settling on Brad, before walking over and sitting next to him.

"Everything copacetic?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I've been working that chick all day," he replied, gesturing to Kristen and giving her a little wave.

Kristen was Patrice's best friend, and just as sneaky and evil as Patrice herself. They'd been at odds with Sam and Carly since before I moved to Seattle, and I was going to help the girls finally get revenge on them. I normally tried to avoid girl drama, but Patrice crossed a major line with that website. It was on now. It would take zero effort to get Patrice to walk right into it. She was evil, but also vain and stupid.

I watched Patrice abandon whatever cheer they were working on and grab Kristen by the elbow, speaking to her in a low voice before the both of them looked at me and Brad.

"Showtime," I said to Brad as the two girls started walking towards us.

"God, look at them. If Patrice shakes her hips anymore she's gonna dislocate a hip."

I laughed, before elbowing him. "Shut up, game faces, man."

"Game faces!" Brad said between gritted teeth, elbowing me back. Damn it, if he kept making me laugh this wasn't going to work. I elbowed him one more time before Kristen and Patrice finally stood in front of us.

"Hi, boys," Patrice cooed with a little wave.

I had to pull in my gag reflex to force a smile. "Hey, Patrice," I said. "How's it going?"

"Did you like watching us practice, Brad?" Kristen asked him, before sitting down next to him, twirling her hair around her finger.

"Oh yeah, you girls are so hot," Brad said, scooting towards her. Damn, he was really laying it on thick.

"So what are you up to, Freddie?" Patrice sat down next to me, her hand on my arm.

"Just, you know. Had to get away from Sam for awhile. She's so damn aggressive," I fake-complained. Of course, I loved how aggressive my baby was, just couldn't say it out loud right now.

"So...did you come to see me?" Patrice responded, moving even closer to me. I looked to my right to see Brad pulling out all the stops, whispering in Kristen's ear and making her laugh, his hand on her knee, moving dangerously close to something else. Good thing Carly had gotten all that cheating bullshit out of her head, she'd kill them both if she was watching this right now. I turned my attention back to Patrice.

"Oh yeah. I mean...I finally...you know..."

"Saw things my way?" Patrice asked with a giggle, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah," I replied. "Thought maybe I'd try out brunettes for awhile."

"Personally, I had to make a switch from brunette to blonde," Brad spoke up, playing with Kristen's bleached blonde locks.

"Well, we could get to know each other a little bit better...what do you say, Brad?" Kristen offered.

"Yeah, definitely!" Patrice agreed. "What do you think, Freddie?" her hand went to my chest.

Damn, it was like a mousetrap. They didn't offer any resistance at all. Time to up the ante a little. I moved Patrice's hair off her shoulder, my mouth coming close to her ear.

"Where can we do that?" I asked her in a low breathy voice.

"The locker room," Patrice responded breathlessly. She looked around me. "Kristen!"

Geez, this WAS going well. I didn't even have to suggest the locker room, she came up with it on her own.

I looked over, and my eyes grew big. Brad was really working it, maybe a bit too much. His hand was on Kristen's leg, and I couldn't tell if he was whispering in her ear or kissing her neck. I elbowed him slightly, trying to get him to pull back. He turned around, and gave me a pointed look, and then I got what he was angling for. Patrice had been after me for months, Brad had to pull Kristen in in only a few hours.

"What, Patrice?" Kristen asked, looking at her.

"Get up. Take Brad with you, we're all going to the locker room!" she said with a mischievous giggle.

Kristen looked worried. "Is that a good idea?"

"Come on, it's a great idea," Brad said, his fingers running over her neck and giving her a look that was reminiscent of 'Blue Steel'. It must have worked, because she stood up suddenly.

"Okay!" she said. "Let's go."

I gave Brad an amused look as Patrice grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. We started following them to the locker room. God, this was too easy.

I don't know why I expected the girls' locker room to look different from the boys' locker room, it was exactly the same. I had to find "the spot". I eyed the row of lockers critically, scanning them in detail, and then I saw fingers poke out from the vents of the one two down from me. It wasn't shut all the way, barely open but not enough to be noticeable. Bingo. I looked to my right, spotting the bench, and grabbed Patrice around her waist.

"Let's sit here," I said, sitting down and pulling her down onto my lap.

~*Carly*~

I hated watching this. And I hated being cramped into this locker. But oh, it would be so worth it. I held the camera Freddie had given me, gripping it tightly. It was going to be so hard to watch Brad do this, and watch Freddie all over some girl that wasn't Sam too, but I just had to wait it out for the right moment.

Brad certainly had that whole seduction game down. I was relieved that he hadn't kissed her on the lips, but he was all over her neck, getting her worked up. Ugh, this was SO hard to watch! Freddie was doing his best to avoid Patrice's mouth too, he was making due by working on her ear. She groaned, and I wanted to throw up.

They kept it up for a good two minutes, both of them. God, this was getting to be too much! Why weren't they moving forward with it already? Come on, one of you assholes make a move already!

"Wait," Freddie said suddenly, sounding like he was out of breath and moving away from Patrice.

"What's wrong, baby? You feeling guilty?" Patrice asked, leaning forward to kiss him. He moved his head, and she ended up hitting his neck instead. She looked frustrated.

"Can you girls do something for us?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah, it'd be really hot," Brad commented. Ugh, I was going to smack him later, his hands were on Kristen's ass!

"What do you want us to do, baby?" Patrice asked, her hand going under Freddie's shirt and kissing his neck again. I saw him grimace like he was disgusted, before quickly willing a neutral expression on his face and pulling her back. He looked at Brad and Kristen, and then back at Patrice.

"Kiss her."

"What?" Kristen cried out, getting off Brad. "We can't do that!"

"Come on, Kristen, it'd be really hot," Brad commented. "It'd get us going."

"Definitely," Freddie murmured, looking at Patrice. "Come on," he pleaded with her. "Just do this for me, and then..." he leaned towards her ear and said something I couldn't hear, but it must have been something pretty good, because she scrambled off his lap and grabbed Kristen, pulling her towards her.

"Come on, Kristen!" Patrice pleaded. "I want this! I want that!" she pointed at Freddie. Ugh, I had to stifle a groan of disgust.

Brad stood up, walking behind Kristen, his back against her. "Whatever he does to her, I'll do to you. I just wanna watch two cheerleaders make out, it'd be so fucking hot," he growled into her ear.

"Just do it, Kristen!" Patrice pushed. "Trust me, you WANT him to do what Freddie wants to do to me." She raised her eyebrows, and Kristen gasped.

"Oh, yeah, if that's what I think you mean. But Brad?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Afterwards, I want you to go and give Carly a big kiss on the lips." Oh my god, that little bitch!

"Mmm, you know it," Brad responded, giving Kristen a little shove towards Patrice. "Now come on."

Freddie stood up. "Yeah, do it like you mean it."

Freddie and Brad stood up like they were going to give the girls some room, but really what they were doing was getting out of the shot. My shot. Those little brats were SCREWED.

Patrice and Kristen didn't even hesitate, they just grabbed each other and started making out like they were pros at it. They probably were, the little sluts. They were all pressed against each other, acting like they were going to eat each other's faces, trying to put on a good show for the boys.

And, there's my cue! I snapped three or four pictures rapidly, before kicking open the locker and jumping out.

"Say cheese, bitches!" I yelled, taking more pictures. They jumped apart, looking shocked, then looking at Brad and Freddie.

"You guys set us up!" Patrice yelled, and Freddie just smiled at her.

"Next time don't convince the A/V guys to put up a website about me and my wife. You think I want you when I've got Sam's ass ripping my clothes off every night?"

"Yeah, seriously, Kristen, why would I want your dumb ass? I have Carly." Brad said.

Patrice and Kristen glared at me, stepping towards me, going for the camera.

"Time to go," Brad said, plucking the camera out of my hands. It'd be a lot harder for them to get it away from Brad than from me. Brad and Freddie were already hightailing it out of there, but I looked at Kristen, and I was overcome with rage and jealousy from watching her paw at my boyfriend. I took a page out of Sam's book, smacking her right across the face.

"Slut!" I hollered, before turning and running out of the locker room. I caught up to Brad and Freddie, and we kept running, straight out of the school, down the stairs, and into the parking lot. Sam and Melanie were sitting on the hood of Freddie's car, waiting.

"How'd it go?" Sam asked as we ran up, me doubled over trying to catch my breath. Brad and Freddie seemed fine, but than again, they did a lot of cardio.

"They're fucked," Freddie responded, before kissing her. "Not literally of course. Jeremy and Shawn still in the closet?"

"Of course. Literally and figuratively," Sam replied. She glared at him suddenly. "You didn't take it too far, did you?" She turned to look at me. "Carly?"

I didn't respond, just smacked Brad on his arm.

"Ow! I was ACTING, Carly!" Brad said. "Damn!"

"Yeah, Freddie was nothing compared to Brad," I answered Sam.

"I was working an angle, Carly!" Brad said defensively. "Kristen's not as slutty as Patrice!"

"Not by much, but he's right," Freddie responded. "Okay, the website's down, but I'm gonna upload the photos when I get home." He helped Sam off the hood of his car, and she walked around to the passenger side of his car, opening his door, prepared to get in, when Melanie spoke up and Sam and I looked at each other nervously.

"So how'd you guys come up with this idea anyway?" she asked.

"Uh..." Sam stammered, looking at the ground.

Melanie looked between me and Sam for a moment, before her face lit up and a smile spread across her face.

"You kissed Carly!" she shrieked at Sam, laughing. "Oh my god! You did, didn't you?"

"Shut up, Melanie! It was a party, we were drunk!" Sam barked at her.

"Wait, is this the party where Gibby lost his pants?" Melanie replied, looking at me.

"Yeah..." I trailed off slowly, and she grinned, bouncing up and down.

"Okay, that does it, we're so HAVING another one. It sounds crazy! I love crazy!" She turned to Freddie and Brad. "Watching your girls paw each other doesn't make you nervous?"

Brad and Freddie looked at each other, pervy grins forming on their faces.

"Nah, it was pretty fucking hot," Freddie responded, ducking as Sam threw a water bottle at his head.

"Anytime you two want to experiment any further we'd be happy to watch," Brad teased me.

"Shut up!" I cried, blushing furiously. "Come on, let's go." I pushed him towards his car. "We'll see you guys back at the studio."

"Yeah," Freddie responded. "Melanie, you coming?"

Melanie shook her head. "Nah, I'm gonna go find out what happened with Patrice and Kristen, they think I still hate you guys. Gotta make sure they don't try to retaliate or anything."

"Good girl," Sam said, patting her on the head, before climbing in the car and shutting the door. Freddie just gave Melanie a wave and climbed in the car, starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot.

"So you still mad at me?" Brad asked, leaning to kiss me, but I put my hand on his chest, stopping me, and he groaned. "Really, Carly?"

"I'm not mad, I just want you to wash your mouth out first," I replied, before opening the passenger side of his car and climbing in, laughing as he rolled his eyes at me and walked around to the driver's side.

~*Sam*~

I peered over Freddie's shoulder as I watched him blow through lines of code like it was nothing. Okay, so I'd spent quite a few years tormenting the boy over his nerdiness, but he was smart as hell. I didn't know much about programming, but I knew there were plenty of software programs out there that you could use to drag and drop to put websites together, and Freddie didn't use them. He preferred to do everything freehand, all those lines of code and various programming languages committed to memory.

"Did you do our website like that?" I asked him. "Just doing all the code from scratch?"

"Yep," he responded, not looking up. "I mean, I used a program for the image mapping, just because it's quicker, but everything else...the java and all that...free handed it."

"You are so damn smart," I said, my chin resting on his shoulder. "So what's this going to look like when it's done?"

"You'll see in a minute. You got the other pictures?" he asked me.

"Uh-huh," I replied, pulling the memory card out of my phone and handing it to him. He slid it in the side of his laptop and then brought the files up, bursting into laughter. The first one was of Shawn, in his boxers, trying to cover his chest with his abnormally small hands. The second was Jeremy with his hands up trying to block the camera, also in his boxers.

"These are great," he laughed. He saved the files to his computer and did something with the ftp, whatever that was, to put them online, and then went back to the website file, pounding out more lines of code.

"Man, they really fucked up messing with us," I commented.

"Mmmhmm," he responded, trying to concentrate. I backed off a little, sitting down on our bed, to leave him in peace. I loved our new bed, it had came in a few days ago, and it was so nice. Perfect for sleeping and other things too.

After a few minutes, he pushed his chair back. "Done," he said, spinning his chair around to look at me. "You wanna come see?"

"Oh yeah," I responded, rushing over to the desk. I sat in his lap and he brought up the newly updated website for me to see.

The banner was still there, with 'Is Sam Preggo?' in big blinking letters, but right underneath it, in big bold red letters, was the word 'NO.' I smirked, reading down further. Freddie had included a cute little letter.

'Dear website viewers,

Notice anything different? That's because Sam and Freddie have tracked down the losers who started this. The two so-called "brains" behind this have nothing better to do with their lives than try to split up a perfectly happy couple and make their lives miserable. The website designers are two geeks who were convinced to do this by two brain-dead cheerleaders. Why, you ask? Because they're geeky virgins with no chance of getting laid, and probably jealous Freddie no longer has this problem. The issue has been resolved. Freddie and Sam are happily in love, and although Sam is NOT pregnant, in ten years the two of them will have a couple of kids just as crazy as them. Who knows, there may be an iCarly Jr. someday. Freddie could have taken this website down, but instead he decided to leave it up as a reminder of what happens when you mess with the iCarly gang. Sincerely, Freddie and Sam Benson, Carly Shay, and our awesome intern Brad Harrison.'

Below it, several pictures of Kristen and Patrice kissing, with the title 'The Brains' with brains in quotation marks, and directly underneath it, the two photos of Jeremy and Shawn, with the title 'The Pawns' over those photos. Underneath that was an old photo from two years ago or so of Carly, Freddie, and myself all giving the thumbs up.

"What do you think?" Freddie asked me, looking very proud of himself. I stood up and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him while I laughed.

"It's perfect!" I said. "Oh my god, I'm sorry I bugged you about this for so long, it was so worth the wait."

Freddie shrugged. "Well, those girls would be total idiots to mess with you again."

"Yeah, no kidding," I replied, before climbing back in his lap again and kissing him. He groaned against my mouth as I brought my hips down to grind against him, his hands going to my ass and squeezing. He pulled away, staring at me.

"Don't even think of pulling what you did yesterday," he warned me, and I stood up, dropping to my knees. "Sam?"

"Didn't I tell you in the hallway you'd be rewarded after this was all over?" I responded, looking up at him with a sexy smile on my face. He didn't respond, just stared at me with that intense expression of his that always got me going. "By the way, what I said in the bathroom? You're not a nerd, Freddie. You're smart as hell, but you're also sweet and incredibly sexy and a little bit dangerous. You're not a nerd."

He didn't speak, just nodded a little, his eyes locked with mine. I moved back up to my feet and kissed him passionately, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off his shoulders, yanking his tank top off, before pulling away and dropping back down to my knees. I saw him bite his bottom lip a little as I unbuckled his belt, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans.

"Lift," I said, and he raised his hips a bit so I could pull them down over his hips. Now he was only his boxers. God that boy was just so sexy. I leaned forward to kiss over his abs, my hands squeezing his thighs, until I felt his lower body start to respond, then I reached in his boxers, pulling him out. I didn't waste any time trying to tease him, that wasn't my intention today. He groaned as he felt my mouth come over him, lifting his hips a bit.

"God, baby..." he moaned. "I love your mouth."

I laughed a little. He said that every time I did this, so I was perfectly aware of exactly how much he loved my mouth. I focused back on making him feel good, alternating between bobbing my head up and down quickly and running my tongue slowly over his sensitive spots. He jerked suddenly as I hit a spot he loved, his hands gripping his chair so hard his knuckles were turning white.

"Jesus, Sam...slow down..." he groaned. "Baby...shit...it feels too good, I'm gonna...Sam...Sam...aaah fuck! Sam!" he yelled as he exploded. I grimaced a bit at the taste, I still wasn't used to it, but it was worth it, just to make him feel that way.

He grabbed my arms, pulling me back up to him, before picking me back up and carrying me over to the bed, laying me down and then getting on his knees, making quick work of my jeans and underwear.

"Please don't tease me," I half pleaded, half whimpered. He shook his head slowly.

"Not gonna tease you," he responded in a low voice, before pushing my knees apart and lowering his head.

"Aaah!" I cried out, arching my back. "Freddie!" God, I loved his mouth too! When he wasn't teasing the shit out of me, he was actually VERY good at this, he knew exactly what speed, how much pressure, how to work his tongue. Oh god, there's that flicking-twisting thing he does. I couldn't stop myself from running my fingers through his hair, gripping it a little bit, but not too much. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause any pain, because every time I did, it flipped a switch in his head and he started getting controlling, which I loved, but not right now. He suddenly switched the direction of his tongue, and I thought I was going to jump out of my skin.

"Oh god, baby..." I moaned, unable to stop myself from grinding my hips against his face. He made me even crazier by sliding two fingers in me, working in and out slowly. I let go of his hair to grip the sheets, my head tossing back and forth. The final straw was when he reached his other hand up to my breasts, trailing his fingers across me softly before rubbing and massaging, and I arched again, my legs shaking and eyes going back into my head.

"Oh, fuck!" I cried out as I began to shake uncontrollably. "Oh, god, baby...aaahhhh!" I collapsed, still shaking a bit, not noticing Freddie had gotten on the bed until he pulled me to him, his arms going around me.

"Good?" he asked me softly, kissing my neck.

"Mmmhmm," I replied, laying my head on his shoulder. "Love you baby."

"Love you too," he replied. "Thanks."

"For giving you head?" I asked, my eyes popping open. He smirked, before laughing a bit.

"No, Sam. What you said," he responded. "About me not being a nerd."

"You're not," I replied. "You may be MY nerd, but you're not A nerd, baby."

He shrugged. "Sometimes I still feel like it."

"I know, but you're not. You're a bad ass. You're like..." I scanned my brain for a pop culture reference. "Neo."

He snorted a bit. "Okay, now you're just bullshitting me. But thank you. I'm glad you don't think of me that way anymore."

I shook my head. "I'm not sure what I used to think of you. I was either in denial, or terrified other people would find out how I felt, so I overcompensated."

He nodded. "Me too."

I laid my head back down on his shoulder, and we just laid there for a little while. We must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew, Freddie was shaking me a little bit.

"Wake up, baby," he said. "We gotta go show Carly and Brad the website."

I sat up, stretching a bit. He tossed me my jeans and then went to put his own clothes back on. I just sat there, watching him.

"What?" he asked.

"It should be illegal for you wear clothes," I responded, before pulling my underwear and jeans back on. He just smirked at me, pulling his shirt over his head. Once both of us were dressed, we went across the hall to Carly's. It was unlocked, so we just walked in. The living room was empty, we figured they'd be in the studio. The two of us walked upstairs, noticing the studio door was open, and I walked in with Freddie behind me. We both gasped at the sight in front of us.

Yay, I finally got to make fun of Carly, I'd caught her in the act! She and Brad were in one of the massive beanbags, making out, both of them shirtless, though Carly still had her bra on. Both of them had one hand down each other's jeans, and Brad's free hand was at the back of Carly's head. Carly's hand was gripping at his shoulders, and they were both moaning like crazy, kissing each other like they couldn't get enough of each other. They hadn't noticed us yet, and Freddie grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the studio.

"Come on," he whispered once we were in the hallway. "Let's go."

"No!" I said in a loud whisper, a devious smile coming over my face. "I wanna listen."

"Sam!" he hissed. "That's perverted!"

"Oh come on, don't be a prude, Freddie!" I hissed back. He made a strange expression, like he couldn't believe after all the dirty things he'd done to me I had the nerve to call him a prude. I leaned against the wall close to the door, continuing to listen and trying not to laugh.

"Sam, come on," he said. "This makes me feel dirty, and not in a good way."

I shrugged. "So go. I'm staying."

"Sam!"

I shook my head at him, and he rolled his eyes before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. I had the common courtesy not to yell at him before we got downstairs so Carly and Brad got interrupted, but I started once we were downstairs.

"Why you gotta spoil my fun, Freddie?" I yelled.

"Nope. Don't give me that. This is gonna end up turning into some weird thing that I'm not going to comfortable with."

I gave him a Look. "Come on, Freddie. THAT'S not going to happen. Which one of us is the pervert?"

"Uh, both of us, but you more so than I am apparently."

I shrugged, flopping down on the couch, and waited for Brad and Carly to finish groping each other.


	54. Chapter 54: I Need You

**A/N: I really, really tried to get this done earlier. There's so much damn drama going on in my life right now it's starting to sound like this story. Anyway, this chapter is...well. You guys are gonna freak out, and probably not in a good way, but just hang on to find out what happens next!**

**Chapter 54:  
>I Need You<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"I can't believe I let you guys talk me into this," Carly said with a glare and Melanie and Sam. Sam just shrugged, but Melanie looked at her wide-eyed, pretending to be innocent.

"What do you mean, Carly?" she asked, blinking several times. "I merely made a suggestion."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Okay, everybody keep an eye on Gibby, keep him away from the tequila...do NOT let him drink anything that is on fire!" she shouted, glaring at Sam and Brad. They looked at each other, then back at Carly.

"Fine, no flaming shots," Brad replied. "Anything else?"

Carly looked at me and grinned. "Try not to get kicked in the balls tonight."

I glared at her. "Cute, very cute. So...Spencer's out for the weekend again, huh?"

Carly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I barely see him anymore. He's always either with April, or at the art museum...with April."

"Aw, he's in love...it's sweet," Melanie said.

"It's not sweet, he's never here, I don't even know what's going on with him anymore!"

Brad rolled his eyes. "Carly..." he warned. "What'd we talk about?"

"Don't be the bratty sister," Carly sighed, annoyed. "I know."

It was Saturday night, and a mere three hours away from the party Carly had begrudgingly agreed to. It almost didn't happen, but Melanie had simply hounded her for 48 hours straight, and Carly finally acquiesced just to shut her up. We were just lucky Spencer was MIA for the weekend, because after the last party...well, there was no way he'd be cool with it. Technically Sam and Melanie's birthday was tomorrow, but having a party on a Sunday night would be a bad idea.

The idea of having a joint party was a little nerve-wracking...it wasn't as if Sam and Melanie shared the same group of friends, and unfortunately, our little group was beginning to log quite the list of enemies at school. It seemed like Sam, Carly, Brad and myself were at odds with just about everyone these days.

I sat down on the couch, leaning back a bit. I was completely exhausted and I didn't know why. I hadn't even been to the gym today, or yesterday. I'd spent most of the day sleeping, and when Sam tried to wake me up in her own special way, I didn't even have the energy to follow through. I chalked it up to the weird hours we'd been keeping over the last week, along with the stress of school, the show, the Sam/Melanie issue, getting even with Kristen and Patrice. It was so draining. If I were to be honest with myself, I'd rather be sleeping right now, but I wasn't about to miss my wife's birthday party. I lifted my head back up to pay attention to everything that was going on.

"Okay, are we done with the words of warning yet?" Sam asked impatiently, tapping her foot.

"Uh...I guess..." Carly trailed off.

"Good," Sam responded. "Because guess what?"

"What?" Carly asked, her brow furrowed.

"Well," Sam said, walking around to the other side of the counter. "While Freddie was in his little coma today, I found my fake ID from when I was in Vegas." She bent down suddenly, and when she popped back up, she had two huge paper bags which I was sure were filled to the brim with various bottles of alcohol.

"Alright!" Melanie yelled, throwing her hands in the air. "Let me see what you got!"

"Sam!" Carly scolded. "Brad already got alcohol, why'd you buy more?"

"Well, now we don't have to worry about Brad's dad kicking his ass for emptying the liquor cabinet, do we?" Sam replied.

Brad snorted. "I don't give a fuck what the old man thinks anymore." Carly and Sam looked at him in surprise, but I just shrugged it off. The girls weren't aware Brad was having more family problems than the usual, so this really caught them off-guard.

"Okay, well, whatever..." Sam trailed off. "Anyway, we have enough alcohol in here to burn down the great wall of China."

"Sweet, gimme the tequila!" Melanie yelled, reaching for it.

"No way! You don't need this!" Sam responded. Melanie reached across the counter to grab the bottle, but Sam was too fast for her, taking the bottle and then running around the counter and behind the couch.

"Give it, Sam!" Melanie yelled, chasing her. Sam tossed the bottle at Brad, who caught it perfectly. When Melanie went after Brad, he tossed the bottle back at Sam. Melanie shoved Brad out of the way and dove at Sam, knocking her to the ground, and before anyone knew what was happening the twins were rolling around on the floor. Well...this was new.

"Guys, really?" Carly asked as she watched the twins wrestling on the ground over the bottle. They ignored her, continuing to fight over it.

"Give me the damn tequila, Sam!" Melanie yelled, trying to yank the bottle out of her hand.

"No!" Sam shouted, rolling them over so Sam was on top of her.

"Get off me!" Melanie yelled, squirming. "You're heavy as hell!"

"Then so are you, fattie!" Sam yelled back, holding the bottle out of Melanie's reach. I could tell by the look on Sam's face she was enjoying tormenting her sister. I'd thought that them finally being cool would tone this kind of thing down, but it only seemed to encourage it. Of course, this was Sam we were talking about, and giving people shit was how she bonded with them.

"Oh my god!" Carly moaned, looking at me and Brad. "Guys, do something! Please!"

I rolled my eyes as I willed myself off the couch. Brad rushed over and grabbed Melanie, yanking her away from Sam, before dropping her and hollering.

"Ow! She fucking bit me!" Brad yelled, grabbing his hand. "Great, now I've got slut rabies."

"I'm not a slut!" Melanie yelled back. "I'm secure in my sexuality!"

"I got the booooooze...neener neener neener!" Sam yelled, dancing in front of her and waving the bottle in front of her.

"Don't bite, Brad, Mel," I warned her. "And can everyone calm the hell down already? Sam, stop acting like a little kid!" I sat back down on the couch. Sam looked over at me, surprised, but I just wasn't in the mood for her antics at the moment.

"Baby, are you okay?" Sam asked, putting the tequila on the coffee table and sitting down next to me.

"Mine!" Melanie hollered, grabbing the tequila and running behind the kitchen counter with it. Sam ignored her, rubbing my back.

I shrugged, giving her a small smile. "I'm fine, baby. Just a little tired."

"You've been tired all day," she commented softly. "Have you had any caffeine?"

"No," I lied. I'd drank a ton of coffee and soda that day, but it hadn't done any good. I'd even snuck into Sam's candy stash to get a little extra sugar rush, and still nothing. I had no idea why I was so out of it and I didn't want to worry her.

Sam looked surprised. She knew how I couldn't really deal without coffee. "Wow, okay...hey Carly, can you make some coffee for Freddie?"

"Uh, sure..." she replied.

"Freddie, if you're trying to cut back, you have to do it gradually," Sam said. "You can't just go cold-turkey. You'll get a headache."

But I already had a headache. And I'd drank enough coffee that day to keep a whale awake for a week straight. I didn't want to worry Sam, but I was starting to worry myself.

~*Carly*~

Worst. Idea. Ever.

That's all I could think to myself over and over the entire night.

This party made the last one we had look like a third grader's birthday party at a skating rink! I spent most of the night hiding breakable items, keeping people out of the studio, and on more than one occasion had to break up a fight after Melanie had hit on the wrong girl's boyfriend. This was absolutely ridiculous! Nobody was helping me either, Freddie had basically turned into a bump on a log, sitting in one spot, Melanie was going for some kind of shameless flirting record, and Brad and Sam were back to double-teaming people and getting everyone even drunker than they already were. Now I remembered why we'd agreed to not drink anymore, but it seemed like everyone else had forgot.

Brad and Sam had kept their promise about not feeding Gibby flaming shots, but I'd almost wished they'd gone back on it, because instead they'd convinced everyone to start playing something called beer pong. I lurched over to the kitchen table to yell at them.

"You guys!" I hollered. "You're gonna end up wasted!"

"No we're not," Brad responded, bouncing the ping pong table off the table and watching it land in one of the cups. "Touch-down!" he hollered, his arms raising in victory. "Chug that, dude!" he yelled at some random guy at the other end of the table.

The guy merely grunted, before lifting the cup and quickly drinking the beer. His hand went over his mouth like he was going to throw up, before turning and running into my kitchen.

"God, not my sink!" I cried. "Sam! Brad! This has gone too far!" They just ignored me and began setting up the next round. God, I wanted to kill them. I loved my best friend AND my boyfriend, but when those two got started...ugh. Alcohol, Sam, Brad, and mischief were a HORRIBLE combination. Why did I ever agree to this?

"Alright! Losing team's down one man, who's next?" Sam yelled at the group of people watching. "Come on, someone step up! Unless you're all skurred!"

"Sam!" I grabbed her arm and jerked her away from the table. "Think you should cool it a bit?"

"Why, Carly?" she whined. "It's my birthday!"

"Yeah, and you want to spend it throwing up?" I replied, my hands on my hips.

"What are you talking about? I haven't missed a shot, and neither has Brad! We're unstoppable!" she shot back.

"Sam, please? I need somebody else in here to be borderline responsible, and your sister...well..." I trailed off, gesturing to Melanie, who was currently sitting in a random football player's lap feeding him jello shots.

Sam rolled her eyes, grunting. "Fine. Have you seen Freddie?"

"Yeah, he's over there talking to Gibby and Tasha. Maybe make him slow down too? He's really out of it..." I trailed off. I actually had no idea how much Freddie had drank, but I was guessing it was a lot, because he was really withdrawn, and once or twice I'd seen him stumble a bit. "I'm gonna try to get Brad to chill out, though I don't know how I'm gonna do that..."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Please, Carly...just take him upstairs and have a little fun."

I nodded. "Excellent idea. Go see your hubby," I said, giving her a shove in Freddie's direction, before walking over to Brad. The last guy Brad and Sam were playing was still puking in my sink, so Wendy had stepped up to play Brad one-on-one.

"Still winning?" I asked.

"Always," he responded, his eyes glued to the table waiting for Wendy to take her turn tossing the ping-pong ball. She did, and it landed in the cup effortlessly. Brad looked up and glared at her, before picking the cup up to chug it. "Lucky shot, Wendy!"

"Wait!" I cried, my hand going to his arm.

"What?" he asked, cup inches from his mouth.

"Uh...I need to talk to you about something," I replied. "Don't drink that."

"But...I have to. It's the rules," he said, confused.

"So quit. I need to talk to you upstairs," I said, my eyebrows going up.

"Why? What'd I do?" Brad replied, and I just gave him a Look.

"Oh...in that case, let's go," he said, and I just gave him a sweet smile as I led him upstairs. Let Sam deal with the party problems for the moment, I was taking a break.

~*Sam*~

I walked across the room to where Freddie, Gibby, and Tasha were standing around talking. Well, Gibby and Tasha were talking, Freddie was sitting on the edge of the window. He looked incredibly hot tonight, as always, but something was just off about him. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was wrong.

"Hey baby," I said, sitting in his lap and giving him a kiss on the neck. "What's up?"

Freddie shrugged. "Nothing."

"You alright?" I asked. "You just seem like you're...out of it." I looked down at the beer he was holding. "How many of these have you had tonight?"

"Dude, he's been holding onto that beer for like two hours!" Gibby spoke up, and I looked at Freddie in shock. Freddie wasn't exactly an alcoholic, but he rarely turned down beer if you put it in front of him. He'd easily throw back three or four to get a buzz.

Freddie just shrugged again. "Just not in the mood I guess."

"Freddie! What's wrong with you? Are you sick? You spent half the day in bed, and now we're at MY birthday party, and you've spent the whole night in the corner and haven't even drank an entire beer?" I put my hand on his forehead to check for fever. Nothing.

"Baby, I'm fine!" he replied. "Really! I'm just tired, okay?"

I nodded, not wanting to get into an argument tonight. "Alright. You'd tell me otherwise, right?"

"Of course," he responded, kissing me. "I just to get some more sleep."

"Guess part of that's my fault, huh?" I asked him with a small smile. He grinned, and his hand went to the back of my head, pulling me back to him and kissing me passionately.

"Not complaining. At all," he murmured in my ear.

"Uh, guys?" Gibby asked. Freddie and I ignored him, continuing to kiss. "You guys!"

I didn't respond, or tear my lips away from Freddie's, just gave Gibby the finger over my shoulder.

Suddenly the loud music that had been playing stopped, and everything was silent. We pulled apart then, both of us turning to look at what was going on.

Oh god, we should have ignored it and just kept kissing. Or hid.

"What the hell is going on here?"

It was Spencer! Busted! We were all dead!

Freddie and I jumped to our feet in alarm. "Uh, hi...Spence..." I trailed off. "What are you doing back early? We were just..."

"Needed some art supplies for something April and I were working on. I said NO MORE PARTIES!" Spencer roared. "Look at this, there's drunk kids everywhere! Didn't you guys learn your lesson LAST TIME?"

Freddie and I didn't respond, and Gibby tried to hide behind us, but I just grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back.

"Where's Carly?" Spencer yelled.

"She's upstairs," Gibby said stupidly.

WHAM! I punched him in the arm, and he grabbed his arm before falling over.

"Sam! What the hell?" he shouted at me from the floor. "That hurt!"

I just glared at him and looked at Spencer pointedly, before looking back at Gibby. His eyes widened as he got why I punched him. Brad was a dead man. Spencer was going to walk in there and catch them doing god knows what, and we didn't have time to warn him.

Spencer just shook his head angrily before heading up the stairs. We didn't follow him, we were all a little bit too scared to.

"Okay, that's it, everybody OUT!" Freddie yelled. "We're all busted, get out!"

Kids began clearing out, shoving and pushing one another to get out the door before Spencer came back.

"Freeze, Melanie!" I yelled at her, and she stopped in her tracks, her shoulders sinking in defeat.

"Dammit," she moaned, before walking over and plopping down on the stairs. "This sucks."

"I told you guys this wasn't a good idea!" Freddie said. "Now we're ALL in trouble." He sat back down on the window ledge again.

I put my head in my hands. Why hadn't I listened to Carly? What the hell was I thinking listening to MELANIE? My sister was a walking scandal! God, this was so bad.

"Uh...we're...gonna...go," Gibby said, grabbing Tasha by her hand and yanking her towards the door.

"No way!" I yelled. "Gibby, get your ass back here! Spencer's gonna kill us!"

"Not my problem!" Gibby yelled as he and Tasha ran out the door. I ran out right behind them.

"Pussy!" I yelled down the hallway. "I'm gonna kick your ass Monday morning!"

"Sam! Get your ass inside!" I heard Spencer yell. He'd come back down the stairs, and had Brad by his forearm, pulling him down the stairs, Carly a few steps behind. I groaned. Brad's shirt was half unbuttoned and he had lipgloss all over his neck and his mouth. Carly's shirt was half untucked and her hair was a mess.

"Spencer, let go of my boyfriend! He didn't do anything!" she yelled at her brother.

"You're just lucky you two still had your clothes on, or I'd kill him!" Spencer yelled at her.

"Hey man, she's seventeen years old, she can do what she wants!" Brad yelled. Oh god, bad move Brad.

"You shut up!" Spencer growled. "I'd be real careful if I were you right now!"

"Spencer!" Carly yelled, coming between Brad and Spencer. "He's my boyfriend! You had no right to do that!"

"You're my little sister!" he shouted. "And I told you no more parties!"

Carly didn't speak, just glared at me and Melanie.

"It wasn't my fault, it was Sam's idea!" Melanie shouted defensively. My eyebrows went up in shock.

"My fault? It was your idea to invite the entire football team AND the basketball team!" I yelled at her.

"You two shut up!" Spencer growled. I looked over at Freddie to see if he'd reprimand Spencer for telling me to shut up, and he did rise to his feet quickly, but then he just as suddenly sat back down. What was wrong with him? I was about to find out, but Spencer broke my concentration.

"Look at this! There's trash everywhere, stains, the coffee table is broken! Oh god, my Japanese lamp!" he yelled, rushing over to it. "Ram-poo!" The light didn't come on. "Ram-poo! No, no, no! RAM-POO!" Still nothing. He looked up at us, glaring. Uh-oh.

"Spencer..." Carly started, but Spencer cut her off.

"How...dare...you!" he hissed. "My lamp!"

"Spencer, we're sorry..." I said.

"Shut up, Sam. You guys are going to pay for the damage. All of you," Spencer replied.

"Hey Spence, you wanna quit telling my wife to shut up?" Freddie growled. Ah, guess my man's back to himself.

"You wanna quit throwing parties in my house, Freddie?" Spencer replied. Freddie didn't respond, just rolled his eyes. "You guys start cleaning this shit up."

I groaned, my head hanging back. The damage was catastrophic, I didn't want to deal with this right now!

We all started picking up trash, cans, and bottles against our will, everyone totally silent.

"Freddie, help me move this couch back," Spencer said. Freddie sighed, but walked over to where Spencer was standing and grabbed the other side of the couch. They both lifted it up, but Freddie dropped it suddenly and took a step back like he was trying to steady himself, lifting a hand to his forehead.

"Freddie?" I asked, dropping the trash bag I was holding. "Are you okay?" Freddie normally had no problem lifting things, and the couch wasn't that heavy. I'd managed to move it a few times myself in the past.

"I'm fine, Sam," he said, shaking his head a bit. He looked a bit dizzy.

"This is what happens when you drink," Spencer said gruffly. "Come on, take two."

Freddie glared at him, taking a deep breath, before picking up the end of the couch again. Just like that, it dropped again, and Freddie leaned down, his hands on his knees, before straightening back up. Oh my god, something was really wrong with him!

"Freddie, just stop!" I said, rushing over to him. "Let someone else do it."

"Sam, I'm fine!" he snapped.

"Freddie, you're not fine, you've been like this all day, I think you're coming down with something!" I said, grabbing his arm and shaking it a bit to get his attention. He jerked his arm away, glaring at me. Ugh, the superman complex was kicking in again. Freddie couldn't stand showing weakness.

"I said I'm fine, okay?" he yelled. I took a deep breath, prepared to let him have it, but he grabbed my shoulder suddenly, his knees buckled, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head before he sank down to the floor.

I couldn't do anything but scream, absolutely terrified, falling to my knees. "Freddie!" I yelled, shaking his shoulders. "Oh god, wake up! Wake up! Fuck, somebody do something!"

Carly and Melanie were just standing there frozen in shock, but Spencer and Brad quickly ran over, dropping to their knees. I moved around and lifted Freddie's head into my lap. Oh god, what was wrong with him? What happened? Why didn't I pay more attention before? "Baby, please wake up!" I cried, sobbing.

"Freddie!" Brad grabbed his chin and shook his head from side to side. "You gotta wake up, man!"

"Is he breathing?" Spencer asked, his fingers going to the side of Freddie's neck to check for a pulse. "Wake up, Freddie!"

"I don't know!" I cried. I looked to his chest, and thankfully it was still rising and falling, although somewhat shallower than normal. "Oh god, what's wrong with him? Baby, please wake up!"

"How much did he drink?" Spencer asked.

"Not much, he didn't even finish one beer!" I replied, stroking Freddie's hair. "Baby, wake up!"

"Shit, shit, shit!" Brad kept muttering over and over. He shook Freddie's shoulders again. "Wake up Freddie!"

"Carly, call 911," Spencer said, looking up at her. She hesitated, and I glared at her.

"CALL THE FUCKING AMBULANCE, CARLY! FUCKING DO IT NOW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. She jumped, scrambling for her phone, and began dialing, and then a moment later speaking in a gasping, panicked voice.

"Hi, my name is Carly Shay, I need an ambulance to Bushwell Plaza, apartment 8-C, sixteen year old boy, he's unconscious." She paused. "Yes, he's still breathing, but we can't get him to wake up!" She paused again as the operator asked her something. "I don't know, he was moving a couch and he just dropped! He doesn't have any pre-existing conditions that we know of...just get here, please! Hurry!" She looked up at me helplessly. "They're on the way, they want me to stay on the phone."

"Then stay on the damn phone, Carly!" I yelled, then looked back down at the unconscious love of my life. Oh god, please don't let him die. I can't live without him.

"Somebody go get his mom!" Brad said. He shook Freddie again. "Wake up, dude!"

"She's not home, she went out with Robert," I said. Oh my god. Oh my god. What do I do? My husband's laying on the floor completely out-cold, and I can't do anything to wake him up! "Brad, what do I do? Oh my god!"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Brad yelled, panicked. "Oh god. This is so bad. Fuck. This is so bad. This is bad, isn't it?"

"Shut up!" I yelled. "You're not helping!" I was absolutely sobbing now, stroking Freddie's face and trying to talk to him to get to wake back up. "Freddie, baby, you have to wake up. You can't leave me...baby...please!" I sobbed, looking down at him. He was still out of it, mouth slightly open, and I could see the whites of his eyes just a little bit, his eyelids fluttering a bit. Oh god, I was sure he was going to die. Oh my god. This wasn't fair. First he almost lost me, and now I'm about to lose him! This couldn't happen.

"WAKE UP! FREDDIE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Sam, calm down..." Brad said, reaching out to touch my shoulder, and I jerked away.

"I can't calm down! Where's the fucking ambulance? God, what's wrong with him?"

Brad and I were getting desperate. He leaned over Freddie, smacking the side of his face. "Wake up, man!"

"Stop it!" I screamed, shoving at Brad. "Don't touch him!"

Spencer had stood up and began pacing, before walking over the front door and opening it, standing out in the hallway. Melanie just stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do.

"What if he stops breathing?" she asked, and I glared at her.

"Then I will make him start breathing again, shut up Melanie!" I yelled. "You're not helping!"

"Calm down, Sam!" Brad said again. "You've gotta calm down!"

"I can't!" I cried, tears falling freely down my face. I didn't even bother to wipe them away, I just kept staring down at Freddie, my fingers brushing over his face. "Carly, how long?"

"How long?" she said into the phone. "Seven minutes."

"Oh god, that's too long!" I cried out. "Why did this happen? What's wrong with him? Oh my god! Baby, please wake up!"

Brad stood up and began pacing, running his hands through his hair. He'd given up on trying to wake Freddie up, we both knew it wasn't going to happen, but I wasn't giving up. I grabbed Freddie's shoulders and started shaking him, hard.

"You have to wake up, baby! Please! Freddie!"

"Sam, stop!" Brad hollered. "What if you make it worse?"

"I don't know what to do!" I cried. "Brad, what do I do?"

"I don't know! We have to wait for the ambulance!" Brad exclaimed. "Just...try to stay calm, Sam."

Melanie was sitting on the ground in disbelief, and Carly was still on the phone, but she was sobbing almost as hard as me.

"Please make them go faster!" she yelled into the phone. "He won't wake up!"

"Carly," Brad said, walking over to her and pulling her into his arms. "It's okay, babe. He's gonna be okay."

I couldn't look at them. It hurt. I looked back down at Freddie, leaning down to kiss him on the top of his head.

"Please, baby. Please. I love you so much...please wake up!" I whispered against his skin. What if he didn't? What if he died? What would I do then? I wasn't kidding around when I'd said I'd die without him. What could I do? I was nothing without him.

"They're here!" Spencer shouted, running into the room, followed by three EMTs. They dropped to the ground around him.

"Back up, miss," one said to me, and I glared at him.

"No!" I shouted. Spencer moved to grab me, but I jerked away, turning back to Freddie. "I can't leave him."

"Sam -" Spencer started, but I cut him off, yelling at the top of my lungs.

"FUCK YOU! You touch me and I'll beat the shit out you, Spencer!"

"Fine, just keep still, don't move him," another EMT said. "How long has he been unconscious?"

"I don't know...fifteen minutes? He's still breathing, but...god can't you just wake him up?"

"I need you to step back, miss, we have to put him on a gurney and get him into the ambulance."

My hands went underneath his head to lift it off my lap, setting his head gently down on the floor, and I had to use every ounce of strength I had to stand up and back away. "I'm going with him. I'm his wife."

"He's sixteen?" one of the EMTs gave me a surprised look.

"Yeah, and we're married. Problems?" I shouted. "I'm going with him!"

"Fine, just move out of the way!" the EMT yelled at me. I wanted to hit the guy, but I knew that would make things worse. I stood there helpless as I watched them move Freddie onto the gurney and then lift it up to wheel it out, and I walked alongside, still sobbing.

"Meet us there!" Brad yelled behind him as he ran out the door behind us, his coat in hand. "I'm going with you."

"Only one person, sorry," the same EMT who'd been a dick to me said.

"NO!" I yelled. "If he wants to go, he can go!"

"They're my best friends, I'm not leaving either one of them," Brad said firmly.

"Fine, just stay out of the way."

"We'll be behind you guys in the car!" Spencer yelled down the hall at us.

Neither one of us responded. The elevator ride seemed to take forever, and I felt like I was going to lose it running through the lobby and out to the ambulance. Brad and I stood outside the ambulance waiting for them to put Freddie in, and Brad put two hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look up at him.

"He's gonna be okay, Sam," Brad said. I nodded.

"I hope so," I replied, looking back down at the ground. "Thanks."

Brad just nodded. "Okay, in you go."

I climbed in, and Brad climbed in right after. I grabbed Freddie's hand, bending down to kiss it, right above his wedding band. "I'm not leaving you, baby."

The sound of those damned ambulance doors shutting behind us felt like a death sentence. Because if I lost him, if he died, I would too.


	55. Chapter 55: Real Love

**A/N: So...I was gonna cliff-hang this but then I got concerned some of you may find out where I live. It's cool though, I love my rabid readers! Your reviews always made me smile, some make me laugh, some make me go "huh?" but always happy to get them! Anyway, here's the answer to the mystery to Freddie's sudden loss of consciousness. It's almost 7:00 AM as I'm typing this note, so now I'm going to bed.**

**Chapter Fifty Five:  
>Real Love <strong>

~*Freddie*~

What the hell just happened to me?

That was the first thought that went through my head as I felt like I'd just come out of the longest, deepest sleep of my life. The last thing I remember was yelling at Sam that I was "fine". What happened? Where was I?

I slowly opened my eyes, and I realized I was staring up at a drop ceiling and bright fluorescent lights. I was half-laying down, half sitting up. Oh shit, was I in the hospital?

I looked down at my arm and groaned. Oh look, there's an IV. Yep, I am definitely in the hospital. What the hell happened?

I didn't get a chance to think about it again. I heard a gasp, and then I couldn't even breathe because Sam's arms were so tight around my neck.

"FREDDIE!" she shrieked. "Oh god, you're awake!"

"Can't breathe," I gasped out, and she let go, but only for a second, before grabbing my shoulders and planting kisses all over my face, then my mouth. I let her, she was probably feeling what I felt when the situation was reversed and I was the one waiting for her to wake up; if she hadn't been all banged up with broken limbs and ribs, I would have done the same thing. She finally pulled away, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at me, grabbing my hand so hard it almost hurt.

"God, you scared the shit out me, baby!" she said.

"Sorry," I responded, and she just started kissing me again.

Geez, what the hell happened? She was acting scared out of her mind. I grabbed her shoulders, gently pulling her away from me.

"What happened?" I asked her, and she just shook her head. She was crying. I reached up and wiped her face, and she grabbed my hand, kissing it.

"You passed out," she said. "You just went down."

"What? Why?" I yelled, then stopped myself. "Sorry. Why?"

She shook her head again. "I don't really know, but they gave you some kind of shot. And they took some blood. They're doing some tests."

"Oh, god," I moaned, my hands going to my face. What if something was seriously wrong with me? The very idea of that was scary, especially if it was something life-threatening.

"I was so scared," she said shakily, and I could tell she was about to cry again. I tried to see if I could move, and it was fine, no problems there, so I shifted to the side a little bit and held my arm up.

"Come here, baby," I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to lay down with me. She laid her head on my shoulder, her face buried in my neck. She brought her hand up to the other side of my neck, her fingers making little circles over my skin. I sighed, laying my head back. "It's okay, Sam."

"No, it's not," she murmured against me. "I didn't know what to do. We were all so scared. Spencer thought you had alcohol poisoning or something, the rest of us didn't know what to think."

"Sorry I ruined your birthday, baby," I replied, stroking her hair. She shook her head firmly.

"You didn't ruin anything. You would have if I lost you, but I didn't," she said. I could feel my neck starting to get wet; she was crying again.

"Stop crying, Sammy," I said. She lifted her head to look at me.

"What if something's wrong with you?" she whispered.

"I thought we already agreed something was wrong with me," I cracked, trying to make her laugh, but she just gave me a Look, shaking her head.

"That's not funny," she replied. I nodded, staring at her, before bringing my hand to the back of her head and kissing her. She moaned a little bit as she felt my tongue slide over her lips, before opening her mouth, and for a moment we forgot where we were, laying in a hospital bed with an IV stuck in my arm, kissing passionately like we were at home.

"Seriously, guys, in a hospital bed?" I heard a familiar voice say, and I broke the kiss to look around Sam's head. Brad was standing there with an amused look on his face.

"Sup dude?" he said. "Good to see you awake."

"Thanks," I replied.

"He wouldn't leave you either," Sam said softly. "Carly and Spencer and Mel are in the waiting room, but me and Brad..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

I nodded, looking over at Brad. "Thanks, man."

Brad shrugged. "Haven't had a best friend since I was ten. Wasn't about to let you get away that easy."

Brad and I just stared at each other for a second. "Me either," I responded softly, ignoring the little "aww" that came from Sam after she'd laid her head back down against my neck.

"Okay, well, I'm not gonna kiss you or anything," Brad responded with a smirk. "I'll let her do that."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I appreciate that."

"So do I," Sam responded, lifting her head again. "Because I'm not sharing."

"I'm good," Brad responded, with a raise of his hands, before grinning and sitting down in the chair Sam had been in. "Robert come back yet?"

"Wait...Dr. Robert? Seriously?" I groaned, laying my head back down. First the guy's banging my mom, now he's taking my blood samples. Wonderful.

"Yes, seriously!" Sam said, poking me. "And no, he hasn't yet. He said he'd come back as soon as they got the results. He and Marissa are holed up outside the lab right now."

"Yeah, your mom's freaking out, dude," Brad commented. Sam looked at him and shook her head.

"Not as much as I was," she replied, and Brad nodded.

"Yeah, she really started to lose it. She almost punched an EMT."

"Sam!" I scolded her. "That wouldn't have helped!"

"I know," she said with a shrug. "That's why he said almost. I almost knocked Spencer on his ass too."

Brad stood up suddenly. "Feel like seeing everyone else?"

"Yeah, I guess. Why not?" I replied.

"K." Brad walked out the door, and a few minutes later Carly nearly knocked him over, running in.

"Freddie!" she cried, bending down to hug me tightly. Gah, just like Sam, she was squeezing me so hard I couldn't breathe.

"Freddie can't breathe," I squeaked helplessly, patting her arm. "Leggo."

"Oops, sorry," she said with an apologetic smile. "Are you okay? We were all so worried about you..."

"I don't know yet," I replied. "They're still doing tests, right?" I looked at Sam, who put her head back down on my shoulder, one leg thrown over me. I could tell she wasn't planning on leaving me anytime soon. It was nice. I'd never leave her, and she'd never leave me.

"How do you feel?" Carly asked, sitting down.

"A little woozy still," I responded. "Other than that, fine."

Spencer and Melanie walked in a minute later, walking close to the bed.

"Are you okay, Freddie?" Melanie asked, looking worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mel."

Spencer just stared at me for a minute, and then, suddenly...

"FREDDIE!" he yelled, bending down and hugging me tightly. Again, seriously? I'd been unconscious and these people were trying to choke me!

"Can't...breathe..." I pushed Spencer off me. "You guys are gonna have to stop doing that!"

"Sorry," Spencer said, regaining his composure. "You had me worried, dude! I thought you were just drunk!"

I shrugged. "It's cool, dude."

"Okay, nobody else touches Freddie!" Sam practically hissed. "You'll hurt him."

"Sam!" I said, annoyed. "I'm not a damn weakling."

She just glared at me. "I'm not taking any chances," she stated, before laying her head back down.

I rolled my eyes and smirked a little, my hand going back to playing with her hair. I'd done it so much in the past few months it had become a habit, half of the time I didn't even realize I was doing it. Sam had told me before I even did it in my sleep when we laid together in our bed.

I heard the door open up, and I lifted my head a bit to see Dr. Robert and my mom walking in. Sam looked up too, sitting up. Dr. Robert was going over something on his chart, and my mom had this expression on her face like she was about to burst into tears, walking towards me. I took a deep breath, because I knew what was about to happen.

"My baby!" she cried, before throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing tightly. Yep, there it was again! Everyone's trying to strangle Freddie tonight! My arms went up in frustration.

"Mom!" I gasped, disentangling her arms.

"I was so worried about you, honey," she said, sitting down on the bed, her on one side, Sam on the other.

"It's okay, mom. I'm fine," I responded, patting her leg. She stood up, shaking her head.

"No you're not, honey," she replied.

What? What did that mean? I looked over at Sam, slightly worried, and she sighed sadly, laying back down next to me and burying her face in my neck, probably steadying herself for bad news, her hand going back to the other side of my neck. I grabbed her hand, pulling it down, and holding it in mine. She whimpered a little bit, and I knew all sorts of terrible things were going through her head.

"Shhh, baby," I whispered in her ear. "Come on, don't freak out yet." She nodded, lifting her head to look at me. I really wanted to freak out too, but one of us had to be the strong one, and Sam didn't have it in her at the moment. She sat up suddenly.

"Everyone who's not a registered medical professional or married to Freddie needs to leave!" she hollered.

"We'll be in the hall," Brad said quickly, grabbing Carly by her hand. "Come on, troops, move." Brad, Carly, Melanie, and Spencer all scooted out, leaving me alone with Sam, my mom, and Dr. Robert.

I looked up at Dr. Robert, not pleased with the prospect of having to get a diagnosis from the guy who's been fornicating with my mom in our apartment. "So?" I said, staring at him.

"Have you ever passed out before, Freddie?" he replied, looking at his chart again.

I shook my head. "No, why?"

"Been having any dizzy spells lately? Sleeping more than usual?"

"Yeah, for the last few days or so...can you just tell me what's going on?"

I saw Dr. Robert look over at my mom, and she nodded to him.

"And what about your eating habits, Freddie?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I snapped.

"Freddie!" Sam scolded me. "Chill out!" She looked up at Dr. Robert. "He's been eating like a horse lately, more than me even. And he goes through like twenty bottles of water a day, for like the past month."

"I've been working out!" I argued. "What does this have to do with why I'm laying in a hospital bed right now?"

"We did some blood tests on you, your blood sugar levels were sky-high. You're lucky, you could have gone into a coma," Dr. Robert responded.

My brow furrowed. "Wait, my blood sugar levels? So..."

"So we gave you an insulin shot, and that evened things out a bit."

I groaned, my head falling back onto the pillow. Damn it, that meant...

"You have type 1 diabetes, Freddie."

"Shit."

"Fredward!"

"Sorry, mom," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"So what does that mean, Dr. Robert?" Sam asked worriedly.

"His body can't process glucose normally. Too much or too little...he can pass out again, have seizures, comatose, absolute worst case scenario he can die."

I could feel her tense up already, like she was about to have a panic attack, and I just grabbed a handful of the back of her shirt, yanking her back down to me. "Easy, baby." I looked back up at Dr. Robert and my mom. "So now what?"

Dr. Robert shrugged. "It can be managed pretty easily. Monitoring your blood sugar levels, cutting out processed sugar, insulin injections..."

"For how long?" I asked. I hated needles. I could barely deal with the one sticking out of my arm right now. And cutting out processed sugar? That wasn't going to sit well with me...I probably used a pound of sugar a month just in my coffee.

"Well...forever, Freddie," Dr. Robert replied. "If you don't you know what will happen."

I sighed, my hands coming over my face. "This cannot be happening."

"It's not a death sentence, Freddie," Dr. Robert said, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, except to my normal way of life," I replied. "Ow!" I hollered suddenly, rubbing the spot on my chest where Sam had just smacked me. "What was that for?"

"Better than no life at all, nub!" she yelled, glaring at me. "You just crumbled like a dried leave in the floor of Carly's apartment, I thought you were DEAD, and you're complaining about this? Just do what he tells you to do! If I have to stick you with a damn needle myself every day for the rest of our lives, I'll do it!"

I was silent. There was no point in arguing with Sam.

"Am I going to have to stay in here overnight?" I asked, groaning when Dr. Robert nodded.

"Just so we can run a few more tests."

"I'm staying," Sam said, laying back down next to me. She threw her leg back over me and looked back up at Dr. Robert like she was daring him to say otherwise, her muscles all tensed up like she was ready to start a fight. My hand went to her back, trying to relax her, but it wasn't making any difference.

"That's fine, Samantha," he said, and just like that, she relaxed, laying her head on my chest.

"I had plans tomorrow!" I argued, angry. "Tomorrow's her birthday!"

"Actually, it's been my birthday for three hours, Freddie," Sam responded. "We can do something Monday, I'm older than you now, you'd better do what I say."

"Ugh, fine," I grunted. "So after tomorrow, I can leave?" I looked up at my mom, and she shrugged.

"As long as there's not any more issues," she responded. "We'll know more tomorrow."

I sighed, irritated.

"I'm going to go home," my mom said. "You're obviously well taken care of. But I'll be back in the morning. The night shift nurse will be checking in from time to time...you two better not start with your...activities." She shook her finger at us.

"What activities?" I asked, trying to sound innocent, and my mom just rolled her eyes.

"All that biting and slamming each other into walls you do and call it sex! I can hear you two going at it every night, and I see the marks the next day!"

"Oh god!" Sam cried, burying her face in my shoulder. I just covered my face with my hand, feeling my cheeks burn, and my mom laughed. Laughed! Like it was funny!

"I'm not judging, it's just weird," she said, her hands up. "Okay, I'm out of here. I'll be back in the morning." She walked over to the bed and gave me a kiss on the head, but my hand was still over my face, absolutely mortified. "Good night, you two."

I lifted my hand, and Dr. Robert gave me a curt nod before walking out, shutting the door behind him.

"God, I told you we should have tried being quieter!" Sam moaned.

"No point in bothering with it now, I guess," I responded, rubbing her back. She picked her head up and stared at me for a moment. I stared right back at her, our eyes locked for a few moments. Then suddenly we both burst into laughter.

"Oh my god, Freddie," she laughed, laying her head back down. "We're so dumb. We thought we could keep this shit a secret?"

"Yeah, really," I replied. "Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"How am I supposed to deal with this?" I asked. I could feel the front I'd had up for everyone else starting to crumble. Okay, it wasn't life-threatening, it could be managed, but I didn't want to deal with it. I didn't want to go through the rest of my life having to control it. And there were all kinds of complications that could happen too, especially as I got older. I let out a shaky breath.

"Baby," Sam whispered. "It's gonna be okay." She shifted a bit so she wasn't laying on me anymore and was laying on her side instead. "Come here." I rolled over on my side, sighing as she wrapped her arms around me.

I was silent. I didn't want to talk, and with her, I didn't really have to, because she got me. "We'll get through this baby. We've gotten through everything else, this is nothing."

I didn't respond, just shook my head, burying my face in her neck, my hand tangling through her hair again. The girl was like my human security blanket.

"You don't have to be so strong all the time," she whispered in my ear. I shrugged, but my jaw was trembling, and I'm sure she could feel me shaking. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but Sam whispered in my ear again, and five little words were all it took to break me down.

"Just let it out, baby."

I must have cried for a good twenty minutes, but Sam just laid there, rubbing my back, not speaking. I felt like an idiot, people came down with cancer and all sorts of terrible things every day that were way worse than what I had, but it didn't change the fact that it was a weakness, and I'd been doing everything I could for awhile to avoid being weak. I hated it.

I finally started to quiet down, and Sam's hand went to my chin, tilting my head so my eyes met hers. "Feel a little better?" she asked, her hand brushing over my face to wipe my tears away. I nodded, silent, and a moment later Sam's lips were on mine, kissing me softly. I kissed her back eagerly, and a few minutes later we pulled apart.

"You know I'm here for you, right?" she asked, staring at me. I nodded.

"I love you," I responded. "Sorry for freaking you out."

"It's not your fault, baby. And I love you too. So, so much. I really thought I was gonna lose you. It could be a lot worse, you know."

"Yeah, but we're not out of the clear. There can be complications."

"Then we'll deal with them," Sam replied simply.

"Insulin shots every day for the rest of my life," I complained.

"You'll get used to them."

"No SUGAR," I groaned.

"Then I'll just have to be sweeter," she responded with a grin, making me laugh.

"You're plenty sweet for me baby, and a little spicy too," I replied. "I dunno what I'd do without you..."

"Still be using hand lotion and internet porn," Sam cracked. I gave her a Look.

"Very cute," I responded, rolling onto my back. "But yeah, you're probably right."

Sam sat up, stretching a bit. "You want me to let everyone back in here or chase them off?"

I groaned. "Chase them off. Sorry, but..." she cut me off with a quick kiss.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain, baby. You've had a rough night. I'll be right back," she said, hopping off the bed. She walked outside the room, and then a minute later I heard the sound of someone running.

"Brad!" I could hear Sam yell. "Get your ass back here! I said go home!"

The door flung open, and Brad walked in, shutting the door behind him and locking it, ignoring Sam banging on the door. I sat up, confused a bit.

Brad just stared at me for a second, then walked over to my bed and grabbed me into a tight hug.

"Glad you're okay," he said. "Dumb ass." He punched me in my shoulder and then went back to the door, opening it and running out, right past Sam, who gave me a confused look as she walked in.

"What the hell was that about?" she asked, and I shrugged, looking down and trying not to laugh. I loved that kid, in a purely hetero way. "Aw, bromancing!" she cooed, climbing on the bed and poking me.

"Shut up," I growled, before grabbing her and yanking her down to me.

~*Carly*~

"Show me how to do it," Sam said as she looked up Marissa.

"Sam, you don't have to do this..." Freddie started, but Sam turned around and glared at him, shutting him up immediately, before looking back at Freddie's mom.

"Show me."

Brad, Sam, and I were all sitting in Freddie's hospital room. He'd been in there for two days, having to go through test after test. I felt so bad for him. It wasn't fair that he had to go through all this, and it was wearing him down already. He was irritable, annoyed, and sick of getting stuck with needles, but it was only the beginning for him, he'd have to deal with it for the rest of his life.

I was still dumbfounded. Freddie had always been so healthy, the sudden diagnosis of diabetes had been a shock to all of us. I was absolutely terrified when he went down Saturday night in my apartment, but not half as terrified as Sam had been. She hadn't left his side since the whole thing happened, except when he went to the bathroom, and even then she'd stood outside the door, leaning against the wall. She'd refused to go to school today.

Brad and I had spent most of yesterday hanging around the hospital too, but we'd gone to school today, heading straight over afterwards. Poor Brad had taken this just as hard as me...he'd told me on the drive home from the hospital Saturday night that it'd been a long time since he'd had a close friend like Freddie, and they were close, very close. All of us were. It looked a little strange to outsiders, rumors had even begun to flare up that Freddie and Brad liked "swapping" girls, which definitely wasn't the case, and occasionally the odd bit of gossip would pop up about us "switching teams". Was never going to happen, but it didn't really matter, people were going to think what they were going to think. It didn't really matter what people outside the four of us thought. It was even getting to the point we were disregarding Spencer, Gibby, Tasha, Melanie, although Mel still maintained a little pull over Sam. We just didn't care anymore. Too much had happened over the past few months to pull us apart.

I felt Brad's had on my leg, and I looked over at him and he gestured to where Sam and Freddie were sitting. I understood. We all needed to know how to do this, just in case Freddie went down one day and couldn't do it himself.

Marissa sat down next to Sam on the bed, Freddie scooting back a bit to make room for her.

"This is an insulin pen," Marissa said, handing it to Sam. Sam held it up and looked at it carefully, and Marissa continued. "Now, this is the dial that measures the dose out. Normal dose is here," Marissa pointed a number on the pen. "Make sure you prime the needle so there's no air in it." Sam nodded, taking a deep breath, and I could tell she was trying to commit everything to memory. "After that, push it into the skin, stopping before it hits the white part, press down on the button, and then hold for five seconds. After that, just pull it out, and throw it away."

Sam nodded again. "Okay."

"Alright, Freddie, come here, I'm gonna let Sam do this one," Marissa said, looking at her son. Freddie groaned, flopping down onto the bed.

"I've already been stuck with that damn thing twice today," he complained.

"Yes, and you have to do it four times a day!" Marissa snapped.

"Come here, baby," Sam said. "I gotta learn how to do this."

"What if I don't want to deal with all of this?" Freddie responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Then you'll die!" Marissa said. "Stop being a baby, honey!"

"Yeah, Freddie, stop being a puss!" Brad shouted, shrinking back when Marissa glared at him. "Sorry, Mrs. Benson."

"Freddie, just come here," Sam said softly, trying to coax him into giving up.

"Nope. Maybe we can just test out shooting me with that thing once a day. I should be fine."

"Freddie!" Sam exclaimed. "Stop it! Man up!"

Freddie grunted, flopping back down on the bed and pulling his shirt up. He'd learned very quickly that he preferred being stuck in the abdomen instead of his thigh, and I could understand, that sounded ridiculously painful.

Sam looked at him for a second, before reaching for the switch on the hospital bed and pressing it, making the bed fold up a bit. Now Freddie was half-sitting, half-laying, and he looked at her, confused.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Sam didn't answer, just crawled across the bed so she was sitting next to him, on her knees, facing him. She pulled his shirt back up, looking up at him.

"Ready?" she asked.

"No," he grunted. "But go ahead."

Sam turned to look at Marissa. "Can you like...turn your head real quick?"

"What? Why?"

I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly what Sam was getting at. "Mrs. Benson, you'll want to turn your head."

Marissa let out a disgusted sigh, before turning her back on the two. Freddie was still lost, not getting it. Sam leaned forward suddenly, her teeth sinking into his neck, and he groaned. She'd told me before how much he loved it when she did that. I didn't understand it, but whatever worked for them. I watched Freddie's hand go to the back of Sam's head, gritting his teeth a bit, and as soon as he did that, she stuck the insulin pen into his stomach, pressing the button.

"Aah!" he hissed. "Damn, baby!"

Sam pulled back off his neck, looking down at the pen, before withdrawing it a few seconds later. "Done," she responded breathlessly, the two of them staring at each other.

Brad nudged me and I looked over at him. Both of us were thinking the same thing, 'damn those two are weird.'

Marissa turned around again, shaking her head. She was like us, she just didn't get it. I didn't think anybody except Sam and Freddie ever would. They got off on hurting each other, but if anyone else tried to hurt the other one they'd rip the person's throat out. It was strange, but sweet, I guess.

"Dude," Brad said, trying to break the awkward silence. "If you go down and I gotta shoot you up, I refuse to bite you."

"What if I ask nicely?" Freddie responded.

"Well...okay," Brad said with a roll of his eyes. I punched Brad on the arm, laughing.

"Okay, so everybody got that?" Sam asked. "In the stomach, five seconds."

Brad and I nodded. "So...is that it?" I asked. "Are you free to go now?"

"Soon as I get the release papers," Freddie responded, pulling Sam down to lay next to him.

"We gotta clean out the fridge when we get home," Sam said as she reached up to fix Freddie's hair. He groaned.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment," he complained, and I scoffed.

"Yeah, how dare we try to keep you alive!" I said, ignoring the way he rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to go check on those release papers," Marissa said. "Be right back."

"K," Freddie responded. He lifted his head, and as soon as Marissa was out the door, he grabbed Sam by the back of her head, kissing her furiously. I shifted in my seat, a little uncomfortable. Yeah, we were all friends, but that didn't mean I liked watching them grope each other.

"Guys," Brad said, clearing his throat. "You can do that when you get home."

"Oh we're gonna," Freddie said before going back to kissing Sam, her arms going around his neck.

"Oh come on!" I yelled, when Freddie started rolling them over, but they were ignoring us. "Brad, let's just...go...we'll be in the waiting room..." I stood up and grabbed Brad's hand, and he rose to his feet, both of us heading for the door and shutting it behind us.

"Finally," I heard Freddie say, and rolled my eyes.

"Do you think they'll EVER stop?" I asked Brad, and he shrugged.

"Those two will probably be in their eighties and still going at it like that."

"What about us?" I asked, my eyes widening once I'd realized what I'd said. Brad's head turned quickly to face me, a little surprised himself.

"What are you saying, Carly?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.

"Um, nothing," I replied quickly. "Come on, I want to get a soda out of the vending machine."

~*Sam*~

"God, I am so glad to get out of that god-forsaken place!" I yelled as I flopped down next to Freddie. We'd been back from the hospital for a few hours, and we were in the studio with Brad and Carly, a sort of combo production meeting/how to pay for the party damage brainstorming session.

Freddie snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. I am SICK of that place. We've been there way too much in the past few months! We're not going back there until you have a baby."

Oh god, I wanted to melt when he said that. Of course, we'd planned to wait a good five years, but I was excited at the prospect of one day having a little mini-Freddie running around. The kid would be able to get away with bloody murder where I was concerned if he ended up having those gorgeous big brown eyes like Freddie did.

"Okay, we need to focus," Carly said, snapping me out of my motherhood fantasies. "How are we going to come up with the money to pay Spencer back? I mean...it may be a few grand..."

"We could get jobs," Brad said, and Freddie, Carly and I all gave him withering stares. Brad's hand went up defensively, and he looked a little scared. "Geez, sorry, it was just a suggestion!"

"Well, I have an idea. Came up with it while I was sitting there in that stupid blood-drawing chair waiting for that nasty glucose stuff to kick in," Freddie commented, and we all looked at him. He always had the best ideas.

"Well?" I asked, and he continued, clearing his throat a bit.

"I was thinking we should turn the site into a business," he responded. "You know, actually register it as an LLC, get a tax ID number...the whole deal."

"But how are we going to make money off of it?" Carly asked. "We're not doing the sponsor thing again, and we're not charging to view!"

"Absolutely not, I agree whole-heartedly with you. But if we just sell ad space on the site? Nothing's going to run on the feed, I can just put a sidebar running down the length of the page, people can buy space for a time period, number of clicks, whatever. We can even really shake things up and do affiliate marketing."

"I have no idea what affiliate marketing is, baby," I said with a confused expression on my face.

"Okay, short definition, we put a link up to a specific product, if someone buys, we get a percentage of the sales," Freddie replied. "Come on, this'll work! Our audience is big enough, we could make a lot of money off this! Enough to pay Spencer off and then some!"

I looked over at Carly and Brad. "What do you guys think?"

Brad and Carly stared at each other for a second, before turning back to us.

"Okay...yeah! Let's do it," Carly replied. "But we're not eighteen yet, so..."

"Emancipated, hello?" Freddie replied. "Sam and I can cover it until you guys hit eighteen."

"Ugh, how is that you're both like six months younger than us and can get away with being considered adults?" Brad groaned. "It's not fair."

"Yeah, well, I'm caught up," I replied. "Freddie's the baby. He still has two weeks before he turns seventeen."

Freddie rolled his eyes, grunting. "That just makes you a cougar," he said, poking me.

"Oh that's right...Freddie's birthday..." Carly said, trailing off. "We are not having a party here!"

"I don't want a party, period," Freddie responded.

"Then what do you want?" I asked, looking at him. He didn't respond, just let his eyes travel over my body, licking his lips a bit.

"Besides that, idiot!" Brad yelled, throwing a pen at him. Freddie through the pen right back, glaring at him.

"I just want to get out of here for a little while, honestly," Freddie replied. "Other than that, I don't know yet."

"Okay," Brad shrugged. "Alright, so we're gonna do the ad space thing, it's official?"

"Yep," Freddie replied. "I'll put a notice up on the site tonight."

I looked at my watch and stood up. "Baby," I said, looking at him. "It's time."

Freddie just groaned, leaning back and refusing to get up.

"Come on, Freddie! You have to take the damn shot!" Getting him to take the shot on time was going to take some very creative handling, which I was more than prepared to deal with. I studied him carefully, before finally shrugging and leaping on top of him, knocking him right out of the beanbag he was sitting in, and straddling him.

"Jesus Christ, Sam!" he yelled, looking up at me. I ground my hips into him a few times before bending down to catch his ear between my teeth.

"Now get your ass up, so we can keep you from getting sick. And then afterwards I'm going to rip your clothes off and then you can spend the rest of the night punishing me for being a bad girl." I pressed my pelvis down onto him when I did this, and I felt his lower body jerk in response. I stood up suddenly, and he sprang to his feet soon after. I turned around, and Brad and Carly were just gaping at us.

Brad cleared his throat. "Uh...you guys know you're starting to make things uncomfortable for us, right?"

"Uh, I thought we'd gotten over all this immature garbage," I replied, and Brad gave me a Look.

"That's not what I mean, Sam. Some of us aren't at that point yet?"

"Oh...right. Sorry, we'll try to tone it done," I responded, before grabbing Freddie by the shirt collar. "We'll see you guys later." With that, I yanked Freddie out of the studio, before shoving him into the wall and kissing him roughly. He groaned against my mouth, his hands grabbing my ass.

"I'm gonna fuck you senseless," he growled in my ear, spinning us around so my back was against the wall.

"We can hear you!" Carly hollered from inside the studio. "Oh my god!"

"That's fine, cuz we heard you guys in there a few days ago," I called back. It was silent for a moment.

"You're a pervert!" Carly yelled at me.

"And you love it!" I yelled back with a grin before turning back to Freddie and kissing him again.


	56. Chapter 56: For You Blue

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, my mom's currently in the hospital...I just finished typing this out, at 3 AM. I'll try to resume my regular posting schedule ASAP, but we still don't really know what's wrong with my mom, so cut me a little slack if I start lagging behind. Also, if this chapter seems a little uneven, it's because both me AND my characters are feeling a little uneven right now. Anyway this is a transitional chapter of sorts...**

**Chapter Fifty Six:  
>For You Blue<strong>

~*Sam*~

"I can't do it," I said, sighing and leaning back in my chair.

"Come on, Sam, just do it," Carly said from across the table.

"Nope. I'd rather just not know," I replied, crossing my arms.

"Baby," Freddie said, rubbing my back. "Just open it."

"No!" I snapped.

We were all sitting in Carly's apartment, around the kitchen table, staring at one envelope. It was my SAT scores, and I was terrified to open that stupid envelope. I'd actually worked hard, studied, for over a month, and then taken the tests. Of course, Freddie had to practically drag me in the door, but once I was there I'd taken the tests. While I was in there I'd felt like I had done okay, but now that I was staring at the scores right in front of me, I wasn't so sure.

"Do you want me to open it for you?" Freddie asked gently, and I nodded, never taking my eyes off the envelope. Freddie picked it up, and his hand went under the table to squeeze my knee reassuringly, before ripping open the envelope. My head dropped down and I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths.

I just knew I'd screwed up somehow. I'd never made an effort in school before, until this year that is, and Freddie and Marissa started demanding it out me. I was making A's and B's now, but part of me still felt like I was still the same little dumb ass trouble maker I'd always been. I wondered how Freddie would feel about me once there was proof on paper that I was a complete idiot.

"What does it say?" I asked, looking at Freddie. "Baby, tell me what it says!"

Freddie didn't speak, but his eyes were huge.

"Freddie!" I cried. "Tell me!"

"Let me see," Carly said, snatching the paper out of his hands. She read over it, and I watched her eyes take on the same look as Freddie's.

"Oh god, I failed, didn't I?" I exclaimed, putting my head down on the table.

"No," they both said, still sounding like they were in shock. My head snapped back up, and I grabbed the paper from Carly, staring at it. I sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, god..." I breathed.

"You scored higher than I did, Sam!" Carly exclaimed. "Oh my god!"

"This must be a mistake," I replied, still staring at the paper in shock. "There's no way..."

"You only scored a hundred points lower than I did, baby," Freddie said. "Holy shit." He pulled me to him and kissed me, but I was still too shocked to kiss him back.

"Sam!" Carly exclaimed. "This is amazing!"

I was still too dumbfounded to speak.

"Yeah, you have no excuses now, baby," Freddie said, wrapping both his arms around me and kissing me again.

"Wait, what?" I said, finally snapping out of it and glaring at him. He laughed, kissing me on top of my head.

"I am so fucking proud of you," he said. "I told you you could do it, didn't I?"

I nodded, trying not to grin like an idiot. I couldn't believe it. I stood up suddenly, reaching for my phone.

"What are you doing?" Carly asked me.

"Texting Mel," I replied. "Have you taken your shot yet?"

Freddie groaned. "Yes, for the third time, I have taken my shot. I'm not supposed to take another one until before bed. You can stop asking now!"

I tried not to make a face. I was getting a little out of line, and I knew it. But I couldn't help but pester him about it, and ugh, things were just getting so stressful.

What a crazy month it had been. The SAT test, trying to turn iCarly into a money-making business, dealing with school drama and the newfound knowledge that me and Freddie's little "games" were common knowledge to the entire floor of our apartment...not that it slowed us down or anything. The hardest thing, however, had been dealing with Freddie's condition. It was a major adjustment for both of us. Freddie was having major difficulty with the idea of not being able to eat whatever he wanted, constantly having to monitor his blood sugar, and the four times daily insulin injections. We were still learning how to regulate everything, and it'd been going pretty well, but he'd still managed to go down a few times. I'd never get used to that, it terrified me every time it happened. The hardest part for him though was having to show any sort of weakness, and it tended to make him act like an asshole sometimes, which was frustrating. We'd been getting into a lot of fights lately, but we'd been keeping then under wraps. It was weird, we never fought in front of other people anymore. It seemed like Freddie would just hold everything in until we were alone, and then we'd start arguing. We always made up afterwards, but it didn't change the fact that it bothered me a lot. It was starting to make me feel insecure. I guess for the most part I knew he loved me, that he was just going through a rough time, but a small part of me was beginning to wonder if he was getting tired of me. I'd never admit to it though, especially not to him. It seemed like he had enough going on right now in his own head to worry about my stupid insecurities. I just had to suck it up and pretend like it didn't bother me, like I didn't notice. But I did notice, every single little thing, and I was starting to overcompensate. Like if I just put up with more, more, more, then everything would get better.

The one place we didn't seem to have any trouble in was our sex life. That hadn't taken a hit yet, and I hoped it wouldn't anytime soon...or ever. We were the same old us when it came to that. I was thankful for that, it was the only time I was able to get out of my head and forget my worries that maybe he didn't love me as much as before. But the rest of the time? I worried, and I worried ALL THE TIME.

I finished pounding out a text to Melanie, telling her about my scores, before setting my phone down and draping my arms around Freddie's shoulders from behind, bending over to kiss his neck. He leaned back, his head hanging back and looking up at me, and I bent down to brush my lips across his. I moved to pull away, but one hand went to the back of my head, forcing me to kiss him longer than I'd intended. Not that I minded. He finally let go of me, and we separated, but I kept my arms around him for a minute, before beginning to rub his shoulders, making him groan softly.

"So where's Brad?" I asked Carly.

Carly shrugged. "He said he had to do something with his dad. He's been acting really weird lately." She sounded worried.

"You know how his parents are, Carls. His dad's probably just being more demanding than usual," I replied. I squeezed Freddie's shoulders a little bit harder. "Feel good, baby?"

Freddie nodded, not speaking.

"What if he's starting to have, like...doubts about us? What if I'm not moving fast enough for him? What if..."

"What if you stopped worrying for a change, Carly?" I cut her off. Wow, was I being a damn hypocrite today. "Come on, Brad loves you. I'm sure whatever's bothering him, he'll talk about eventually. Don't pester him about it."

Carly sighed, shrugging. "I don't know. It just seems like it's been different lately." Guess Freddie wasn't the only one being different.

"Well, don't worry about it, okay?" Freddie said, before standing up. "We gotta go, that stupid project for Mr. Henning's class. I'm so ready for this semester to be over."

"Yeah well, don't get too amped up, baby. We still got almost two months left," I replied.

"Don't remind me," he said with a roll of his eyes. Oh no, did I step out of line again? I hoped this wouldn't start a fight back at the apartment. He grabbed my hand and started leading me towards the door. "We'll see you later Carls."

"Bye," she said glumly, still sitting down in the chair. I gave her a sympathetic look before shutting the door behind us.

"She's right, you know," I said to Freddie as we walked into our apartment. "Something's definitely up with Brad."

Freddie shut the door behind me, locking it. "Yeah, he definitely seems out of sorts." And so do you, I thought to myself.

"You don't think Carly's right, do you?" I asked worriedly. And am I right? Freddie shook his head fervently.

"No, definitely not. He wouldn't shut up about her yesterday at the gym. He's completely over the moon for her. It's something else." He took my bag from me, setting it on the counter, before pushing me into the door, his body pressed against mine. "Can we stop talking about Brad and Carly now?" he asked, our eyes locked.

"You know, I don't think you brought me over here to work on our science project," I teased, trying to be natural. "In fact..." I trailed off before reaching between us to grab his package in my hand, squeezing a bit, making him groan. He was already hard and ready to go. "...I FEEL as though you brought me over here for something else."

"Do you now?" he replied, an amused look in his eyes and that sexy smirk across his mouth. I nodded, our eyes never breaking contact. I bit my bottom lip, still staring at him. "Let me do that," he growled, his mouth coming down over mine and catching my bottom lip between his teeth, before letting go and kissing me passionately, grinding his hips into me. God this felt so good. I didn't want to lose it. I didn't want to lose him. Idiot, stop making him mad all the time and maybe you won't!

I wrapped my arms around his neck so I could pull him against me closer, my fingers tangling through his hair and tugging. He hissed, breaking the kiss to stare at me, his face inches from mine.

"Did I tell you it was okay to do that?" he asked in a firm voice. Oh damn. Freddie wasn't playing around today. No lead-up, no warnings, nothing. Just pure bossiness. God that turned me on. At least I knew since we were playing our game, he wasn't really mad. "You better answer me, baby."

I shook my head. "No," I responded softly. Okay, Sam, if you give in too quickly he'll know something's up with you. Redirect time, just to intensify things a bit and see how he reacted. I glared at him, before grabbing a fistful of his hair and yanking. "But I will if I fucking feel like it!"

Freddie's eyebrows went up, like he was absolutely shocked by what I'd just done. It didn't take him very long to recover though. His arm went around my waist, pulling me off the door so he could smack me on the ass. "What the hell did you think you were doing when you just pulled that move, huh baby?" he murmured in that low rumbly voice in my ear. THWACK! His hand came down on my ass again, and I gritted my teeth a little. I definitely felt that one. But god, I loved it. "Answer me."

"I...I don't know," I replied, moaning a bit as he began kissing up and down my neck.

"Yeah you do," he responded, his breath feeling so good on my skin. "You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you?"

"Yes," I replied.

"You know what happens when you act like a bad girl, don't you?" he asked, grinding into me again.

"Yes."

"What happens, baby?"

I sighed as his mouth found my collarbone. Focus, Sam. You'd better answer him, or he'd really make you pay. Not that I minded, of course. I loved when that boy made me pay. I loved him. I didn't want to lose him...dammit, Sam, focus!

"What happens when you're a bad girl, Sam?" he asked, nipping at my collarbone a little to get my attention.

"You treat me like a bad girl," I responded.

"Am I gonna have to treat you like a bad girl right now, baby?"

Shit. I'd better choose carefully. If I behaved myself, I'd get what I wanted a lot faster, but if I didn't...he'd drag it on forever, teasing me until I begged him to stop. Of course, I loved that too. It all depended on how much I thought I could take.

Okay. Choice made. I grabbed his hair again, yanking his head back and sinking my teeth into his neck. He hissed in pain, slamming me back against the door, before glaring at me. I could tell he wasn't actually pissed though, he was thrilled I'd just done that. Now it had really started. He shook his head at me, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Bad decision, Sam." he responded, before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder, carrying me to the bedroom and kicking the door shut behind us. Thank god, now for a little while I could forget about how horrible I was feeling about all of this.

~*Brad*~

I slumped down in the front passenger seat of my dad's police cruiser, arms crossed over my chest. I was in a horrible mood. The interview for the marine academy had gone horribly, at least from my perspective. Technically it had gone great. The rep had really liked me, and I'd had stellar grades, references from my dad's cop buddies, and it didn't hurt that my dad was a detective, ex-Marine, and an alumni of the academy. But I was incredibly disappointed. I didn't want get in to that stupid school. I didn't want to leave Carly and Freddie and Sam behind. I didn't want to have to start over meeting all new people and have to befriend a bunch of brainless meatheads. And I wasn't ready to give up the idea of becoming a filmmaker.

"Sit up, Bradley," my dad said sharply. "I'm getting sick of your attitude."

I didn't respond, but I did sit up straighter, just to prevent the old man from yelling at me. He looked over at me, and satisfied, he continued to ramble on about that stupid interview.

"And do you know what he told me afterwards? It wasn't official yet, but you were pretty much in! My boy, following in my footsteps. And one day it'll be Bryson attending too!"

I rolled my eyes. Bryson was just a little kid, and my dad already had his entire life planned out, without giving any consideration to Bryson's interests or activities. The kid was already turning into a pretty prolific artist; our entire room was covered in paintings and drawings. I didn't mind having them up, because they were actually pretty good, especially for a second grader.

I was really stuck. If I refused, he'd take me out of Ridgeway, and even if I waited until after I graduated to back out, where would I go? There's no way in hell he'd pay for me to go to UW-Seattle, and it wasn't as if I had any money to pay for it myself.

"Want to go grab a bite to eat?" my dad asked brightly, and I just shook my head.

"No."

My dad glared at me. "How long are you going to keep acting this way? You just had a great interview with the academy, and you're acting like a sullen teenager."

"I am a sullen teenager."

"Very funny," my dad replied with a roll of his eyes.

I didn't speak, just continued to look out the window.

I didn't know how I was going to tell Carly. Or when.

~*Carly*~

I looked out of the corner of my eye in annoyance from my spot on the couch as I heard the front door open, revealing Spencer and April. Ugh, it was like they were permanently attached at the hip! Okay, so I was pretty attached to Brad myself, but I had to admit I missed my brother!

"Hey Carly, what's up?" Spencer asked. I shrugged.

"Not much."

"Where's your entourage?"

"Brad had to do something with his dad, Sam and Freddie are off being Sam and Freddie," I replied.

"Freddie doing okay?"

"Eh..." I trailed off. "For the most part, they're still trying to figure out exactly how to get the dosage right, and Freddie's been fighting Sam pretty hard on the whole gym thing, but Brad keeps an eye on him while they're working out." Freddie's issue with the gym had become even more important to watch now, because if he pushed himself too hard, his glucose could get all out of whack and he could get sick.

"Well, I'm sure they'll figure it out," Spencer responded. He turned to April. "I'm gonna go change real quick, honey-bunny. Have a seat."

Ew, HONEY-BUNNY? And I thought Brad and I were saps! I looked at April cautiously as she sat down on the other end of the couch, putting her expensive-looking purse on the floor and making herself comfortable. Spencer gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder and then went to his room, shutting the door behind him, leaving me and April alone. We were silent, and I continued to stare at the tv.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" April asked suddenly, looking at me.

"Huh?" I responded, feeling put on the spot. "I uh...I don't really..."

"It's okay, Carly," April responded with a laugh. "I get it. Your big brother, in a serious relationship?"

I was speechless, not sure what to say, and April continued.

"You know, I do really care about Spencer a lot. I've never met anyone like him. He's funny, and sweet, and he cares about you a lot. I've never met a guy who's so protective over his little sister. But I'm not gonna hurt him."

"I...I didn't say you would...it's just weird because he's never been serious about anyone before," I responded softly.

"Well, I'm serious about him too. I love him, Carly," April replied, staring at me. "Just give me a chance, okay? I'm not gonna hurt your brother."

Before I could respond, Spencer came back out in different, nicer clothes. Ugh, and I could smell the cologne a mile away.

"Ready?" Spencer said, looking at April.

"Of course," she responded, rising to her feet.

"We're going out to dinner," Spencer said, looking at me. April looked at Spencer, then back at me.

"Do you wanna come?" she asked.

Wow, I wasn't expecting that from her! "Um, sure, but...Brad's supposed to be here soon."

April shrugged. "Ask him to come with us."

I laughed, looking at Spencer. "I don't think that's such a good idea, April. Spencer and Brad, well..."

"I'll make him be nice!" April responded, poking Spencer, who glared at her. "Promise."

"Spencer?" I looked up at him, and he groaned.

"Fine, but you two better not start...kissing...in front of me."

"Spencer! I'm seventeen years old! I'm supposed to kiss my boyfriend!" I shot back, beginning to rethink this whole going out to dinner thing.

"Honey, if you want Carly get used to us, then you're going to have to get used to her and Brad," April responded matter-of-factly. "Come on, pleeeeease?" She gave him puppy dog eyes, and he groaned, finally conceding.

"I can't say no to you," Spencer responded with a smile, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

Oh, ew.

"Okay, if I can't kiss Brad in front of you, then you can't kiss her in front of me!" I said, standing up. Spencer rolled his eyes.

"Fine, just...keep it at kissing, please!" Spencer said gruffly. "Text your boyfriend, then go get ready, okay?"

"Okay!" I replied, bounding up the stairs. "Ten minutes!"

~*Freddie*~

"Ow!" I hollered as I clapped a hand over my arm, glaring at Sam while sitting at my desk. "I told you to warn me before you do that!"

Sam gave me a withering stare before throwing me the box of tissues. "Why, so you can bitch and moan for five minutes straight so it takes me even longer to check your blood sugar?"

I didn't respond, just yanked a tissue out of the box and covered the little spot on my arm she'd just pricked, grumbling to myself.

"It's been a month, I'd thought you'd get used to this by now," she commented softly, looking down at the glucose meter.

"I'm never going to get used to it," I grunted.

"Then we're both going to be in for long, miserable lives," she replied. "Your levels are normal. I'll be on the fire escape. You seem like you don't really want to be around me right now." With that, she stood up, grabbing her jacket and shutting the bedroom door behind her. A moment later I heard the front door slam.

I groaned, leaning back in my chair, feeling like an ass. I seemed to be feeling like that a lot lately. Sam had been really good over the last few months about not taking her anger out on me, but I wasn't having the same luck with mine. I couldn't help it though, I was still so stressed out and struggling with the idea of having a lifelong illness that it was making me lash out around everyone around me, mostly Sam. We weren't fighting all the time, not even half the time, but still. When it was good, it was really good, but when it was bad, it was REALLY bad. I'd been apologizing for my behavior over and over during the past month, so it didn't know if it would do any good to keep doing it. Should I get up right away and go apologize, or should I give her a little space? I didn't know.

I sat there for about five minutes before getting up and throwing my jacket on, walking out the apartment and towards the fire escape, but I stopped short when I heard voices outside the window. Sam was talking to Melanie. I leaned against the wall to listen to what they were saying.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," I heard Sam say. "Nothing I say or do makes any difference with him. If I step in and do all the stuff for him, he thinks I'm babying him, but if I don't...he's still so in denial about everything he'll put off taking his shots until he gets dizzy."

"Well, if he's not gonna do it you're gonna have to step up and do it for him," Melanie responded.

"Yeah, but...he hates it when I baby him."

"Well...do you love him enough to let him hate you?" Melanie asked.

Ugh, that stung. Sitting here eavesdropping on Sam and her sister was making me feel even shittier.

"Yeah. I do. And if I could I'd switch places with him, in a heartbeat. But I can't. And I can't get through to him about this! I can't give up. If he doesn't start taking this seriously he could die. And then what am I gonna do?"

"He's not gonna die, Sam! Don't be so dramatic."

"I'm not being dramatic, Melanie! I'm really fucking scared. I'm worried he's not gonna take this seriously and end up getting sick, and I'm fucking terrified that it we don't stop fighting the way we are we're not gonna survive this! And I can't..." I heard Sam choke up and sniffle a little.

"Can't what?" Melanie asked softly.

"I can't deal without him. I mean, what if it's not the diabetes that's making him act like this? What if he's just tired of me?"

"Sam! Freddie's crazy about you! He loves you, anyone can see that! That's just crazy talk!"

"Is it? He acts like everything's fine when we're around everyone else, but when we're alone together...and not, you know, having sex...he just doesn't wanna deal with me."

"Sam, he's not...like...okay, I know how you guys are. You're not going along with the things he likes...you know...in bed...because you're scared to lose him, are you?"

"No! God no! He'd never do anything I didn't like there. And I don't think he's intentionally hurting me. I think he's just tired of me! He's withdrawn and we argue and we go to sleep at different times...and...I'm impossible to deal with, and I know that! I'm not a loveable person! I'm just doing everything I can to keep him happy, as long as I can...I'm gonna stretch this out as long as I can, Mel. Until he just gets so sick of me that...god, I don't want him to get sick of me! What am I supposed to do?"

Oh Jesus Christ. Had I been that bad, that much of a dick, that I hadn't even noticed I was breaking my poor baby's heart over and over and over?

"Stop worrying about it, Sam! I'm telling you it's just a phase!"

"No it's not!" I heard Sam start to cry. "He doesn't love me as much as he did before. He's tired of me."

Okay, I couldn't just sit back and listen anymore; this was killing me, knowing how much I was hurting her. I quickly moved away from the wall and went out the window, surprising both Melanie and Sam.

"That's not true, baby..." I said, looking at her. She looked up at me and then turned her face away, embarrassed, but Melanie just glared at me.

"You're an asshole!" she said, giving me an evil look.

"Melanie, can you give us some space for a second?" I asked. She continued to glare at me, standing up and shoving past me to get back inside, before turning around to look at me again.

"I will kill you or find somebody bigger than me to do it for me if you hurt her!" she hissed.

"Just go, Melanie." I waited for Melanie to leave before I climbed up the stairs and sat down next to Sam, who still wouldn't look at me, but the way she was shaking I could tell she was crying. I sighed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her to me. "Come here, baby..." I whispered.

Before I could even get another word out, Sam had both of her arms around me and her face buried in my chest, sobbing.

"Please don't leave me!" she cried. "I know I'm being a pest with all the diabetes stuff, but it's only because I WORRY about you, baby! I don't wanna lose you, but I can't just sit back and let you get sick because you won't take care of yourself! I don't know what to do, if I don't keep bothering you about it, I could lose you but if I do keep bothering you about it, you're gonna get sick of me and I'll lose you anyway! Oh god, you already ARE sick of me, aren't you? I'm sorry, baby! Please...just tell me what to do!"

"Whoa, Sam! Baby! Calm down!" I said, my hand going to her chin and forcing her to look me in the eye. "I'm not gonna leave you. And I'm not tired of you. I'm tired of this!"

"Tired of what? Of being married?"

"No!" I yelled. "God, no! I love us! I love us together. I'm really struggling with being sick, okay? I know I need to stop being such a little bitch about this, but I can't! I know ignoring it's not gonna make it go away, but I can't help it! And you bringing up all the time makes me angry! Having to get stuck with those stupid pens four times a day makes me angry! Not being able to eat what I want, when I want, work out for however long I want...that makes me angry! I don't mean to keep taking it out on you, baby! I'm sorry."

"It makes me feel so bad," she said sadly, resting her head back on my chest. "I feel like I can't do anything right with you anymore."

"But you are. You're doing everything right. I'm the one that's doing everything wrong. I'm sorry baby."

"What are we gonna do, Freddie? I can't keep living like this," she replied.

I shrugged. "I don't know, baby. I really am trying to deal with this. I'm just going to have to try harder. But I need you to do something for me, okay?"

"What?" she asked, looking up at me. "I'll do anything for you, just name it!"

I kissed her on her forehead softly, before bringing my mouth down over her lips, my arms going around her to hug her tightly. "No matter how angry I get, how irritable, and how much of an asshole I am, do not forget that I love you, and nothing on earth is gonna make me stop! And when I get like this, don't take it personally, okay? Just do that for me. Don't blame yourself for the way I'm feeling."

She nodded. "But I hate seeing you like that, and when I can't do anything to make you less angry I just feel like a failure."

"You're not a failure, Sam. Do you have any idea how bad off I'd be right now if I didn't have you in my life? Who's going to keep me in line, if not you?"

She shrugged, and I kissed her again.

"I promise you, my sweet baby, I'm gonna make a bigger effort not to take my anger out on you, okay?" I asked her, taking her hand and kissing it. "I swear."

"Okay," she said with a slight nod.

I stood up suddenly, pulling her up with me. "Come on. I owe you like the best massage in the world, for being the greatest, sweet wife ever who's willing to put up with all my bullshit and monitor my blood so I don't die." She gave me a small smile, and I continued. "I mean it, baby. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't forget it. Please don't let ME forget it."

"Okay," she replied.

"Now let's go inside, it's cold out here." I led her back inside and into our apartment, shutting the door behind us and pulling her into our bedroom.

**A/N: Yeah, I'm not super pleased with how this turned out, but eh...another day, another chapter, right?**


	57. Chapter 57: It's All Too Much

**A/N: A longer chapter for you guys today! My mom's doing a little bit better, they think it's a virus, but she's still in the hospital. So...this chapter...very lemony. Only one lemon, but damn. It is QUITE a lemon. Like a "Hmm, am I going too far with this?" lemon. Mmm, perviness.**

**Chapter Fifty Seven:  
><strong>**It's All Too Much**

~*Carly*~

I was trying very hard to ignore the evil glares Brad and I were getting as we walked down the hallway, but it was easy. We were getting them from just about EVERYONE, as far as the students were concerned. Not that I blamed them, we'd managed to alienate the jock/cheerleader crowd and subsequently the rest of the "popular" crowd, the nerds, the christian activist group after Sam had told them to go to hell (ah, irony), Sam's detention crowd she no longer saw anymore, the girls were scared of Sam and me and therefor scared of Brad and Freddie, the boys were scared of Brad and Freddie and thereby scared of me and Sam...yep, we'd managed to piss off pretty much every major group in school. We were racking up a LOT of enemies these days. It was awkward. The only people I really talked to outside of our little core group was Gibby and Wendy, and we were sort of disregarding them these days too.

It wasn't that we were snobs, or trying to be anti-social, it just happened that way. We just didn't see the need outside of our group to socialize with anyone else. But it was starting to become an issue. Poor Melanie had to pretend she hated us just to maintain her good standing with the in-crowd, the only time she talked to us in school was if she was flinging insults at us, and then of course she'd beg for forgiveness immediately after school. I was getting really tired of it, and worse, I was worried somebody was going to try to retaliate or something soon.

I felt like things were starting to get a little bit better between Brad and Spencer, especially after April had forced Spencer into agreeing to let Brad come with us to dinner. They'd been forced to be civil and be around each other for a few hours straight, and eventually Spencer had begun to come around. Who wouldn't though, Brad was a total charmer. I still felt like he had been pulling away a little bit, but he was just so sweet, it was impossible for him to be obviously withdrawn. I'd ask him if something was wrong and he'd turn around and change the subject to me, and before I even knew what was happening I'd forgotten about it. If things kept up the way they were, if he continued to be so sweet and perfect, I'd be ready to go all the way with him. Things were getting pretty intense, but we weren't quite there yet.

I was snapped out of my thoughts completely as I saw a small group of jocks pass us in the hallway, including Caleb, the guy who's nose Sam had broken and had kicked Freddie the night of our first party. Without warning, he suddenly shoved Brad into a row of lockers.

"Walk much?" he laughed, before turning and walking away.

"Jack-ass!" I yelled.

I was fuming! But not half as mad as Brad was. He came off the locker and started heading right for Caleb, but I grabbed him by the back of the shirt collar and yanked him back.

"Brad! Not in school!" I cried, turning him around to face me.

"I'm not putting up with this shit anymore, Carly!" he exclaimed, before throwing his fist into one of the lockers. "This is bullshit!"

"What the hell's going on?" Sam asked as she walked up.

"Caleb just locker-checked Brad," I responded, rolling my eyes. "Where's Freddie?"

"The bathroom, taking his injection."

I gave her a Look. "Wait...he's actually on schedule today?"

"Uh-huh."

"And he did it on his own without you pestering him?"

"Yep."

My brow furrowed. "So...when did Freddie get abducted by aliens?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Look, we...talked. He figured out how much all of this was upsetting me, so he's...making an effort."

"It's about time," I replied. Freddie was in a classic textbook case of denial, and it was starting to make all of us concerned, especially Sam, so I was happy to hear that maybe Freddie was finally starting to take this seriously.

"Yeah," she responded, looking at Brad, who was leaning against the lockers with an angry scowl on his face. "So what are we going to do this time?"

"Nothing!" I said, looking at both of them pointedly. "We're making enemies out of everybody!"

"Who cares?" Sam responded. "If people want to screw around, you know we can come back ten times harder!"

"But aren't you tired of it? I don't like being hated, Sam!"

"I don't either, but I'm not going to be a target! What about you, Brad?"

"I want to beat his ass," Brad said slowly, before taking a deep breath. "But Carly's right. If we keep trying to retaliate every time someone takes a shot at us, we're never going to get through this semester."

"Ugh!" Sam said, looking irritated. "Fine! No more retaliation."

"Who are we retaliating against this time?" Freddie asked as he walked over to us, wrapping his arms around Sam from behind and kissing her on the neck.

"Nobody! Carly won't let us!" Sam replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, you guys get way too much enjoyment out of this," I replied.

Sam shrugged. "We can't take our anger out on each other anymore. It's left a big hole, which must be filled. By jocks and nerds." Freddie shrugged, nodding in agreement.

"You guys!" I yelled, annoyed. "We can't do that anymore! It's getting to be too much!"

"Fine, we'll try to cool it," Freddie responded.

"Um...everything okay?" Sam asked, looking up at him. It was so weird watching her like that. They thought Brad and I didn't notice, but Freddie had been acting like a dick and Sam was acting like a scared little mouse, afraid to upset him. He seemed a little better today, but Sam still seemed to be walking on eggshells.

"Yep," Freddie responded. "I'm good, baby. Don't worry." He turned her around suddenly before dipping her back and kissing her intensely, making her squeal in surprise.

"Awww you guys are getting along again!" I said, clapping my hands with joy.

They both looked at me suspiciously. "Uh...we were getting along fine!" Freddie replied, his eyes sliding over to Sam.

"Seriously?" Brad scoffed. "Dude you've been acting like a dick to her! We're not dumb, we knew you guys were having problems!"

"What?" Sam asked, surprised. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Your relationship, your problems!" Brad replied. "None of our business."

"But..." Sam trailed off, sighing. "Okay. Fine. Well, we're not having problems anymore. I don't think."

"We're not," Freddie reassured her.

"So, heard you kicked ass on the SATs," Brad commented to Sam, who shrugged.

"I did okay."

"Sam!" I exclaimed, poking her. "You did kick ass!"

"Yeah, but what do I do with it now?" she replied. "I have no idea!"

"Well, I'm going into broadcast journalism," I offered. "After nearly five years of iCarly I'd say I've had plenty of training, maybe you should consider it."

"Maybe," she replied with a shrug. "I've still got time to think it over."

Brad looked slightly uncomfortable, looking down at his watch. "Uh...Sam...math. We gotta go."

"But the bell hasn't rang," she responded, slightly perplexed. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the forearm.

"Come on, we don't always have to be late!" he said, jerking her away from us. "Bye guys!"

Freddie and I watched them go, and I turned to look at him. "What the hell was that about?"

"No idea," Freddie responded with a shrug.

"Yo, Benson!" a male voice yelled from across the hall, and as soon as Freddie turned his head, a balled up piece of paper hit him between the eyes. I could hear him growl, and he turned to me.

"This no retaliation thing...how long is that supposed to go on?"

I just rolled my eyes, leaning against the locker and sighing.

~*Freddie*~

"So when are you going to tell Carly?" I asked Brad, trying to dodge a left hook. I mis-stepped, though, and Brad ended up hitting me in the shoulder. "Shit. I'm really off my game, aren't I?"

"Well, you have been cutting back a lot," Brad pointed out. "And I have no clue. I don't want to upset her."

"The longer you wait, the more upset she's gonna be," I replied, throwing a combo, feeling relieved when I'd actually managed to make contact.

God, I was so losing it when it came to the gym. Other than constantly having to poke myself with needles, this was what bothered me the most about this whole diabetes thing. I couldn't push myself half as hard as I was used to. I was planning on gradually pushing myself a little harder, but I didn't want to tell Brad or Sam, just so they wouldn't freak out. I figured if I just took it slow I'd be able to get back to where I was eventually.

"Well, how exactly am I supposed to tell her, dude? I mean...this is going to break the poor girl's heart!" Brad exclaimed, ducking as I threw another punch.

"Just tell her! As soon as possible! She'll understand, and if you keep running away or changing the subject every time she brings up college she's going to start getting suspicious."

"Yeah, I know," he replied with a sigh. He took a step back, leaning against the ropes. "You wanna call it quits?"

"Nope," I responded, getting back into stance. "Unless you're getting soft on me."

Brad rolled his eyes, smirking, before standing up. "Hell no. Bring it, bitch."

We sparred back and forth for a few minutes, but then I heard my phone beep at me. I quickly ducked down as Brad tried to hit me, before scooting over to the edge of the ring and grabbing my phone.

"Aw, damn! Saved by the text!" Brad hollered, bouncing a bit. "No fair!"

I looked at my phone , and nearly dropped it. Holy hell. Time to go!

"What the hell dude? You said we were gonna box some more!" Brad hollered at me. "What'd the little woman have to say?"

"Oh she didn't say anything," I replied.

"She sent you a picture?" Brad asked, trying to keep up with me.

"Nope," I replied.

"Then what the hell, dude?"

I stopped in my tracks, turning to look at him.

"Video," I said simply, and Brad's eyes got big.

"Shit. Good video?"

I laughed. "Best video ever."

"Damn, dude. Go handle that!" Brad said with a laugh.

"Oh I'm gonna. If you don't hear from me for the rest of the night, it's because I'm still handling her."

"Atta boy! Don't kill her!" he called at me as I walked away.

"I'm not!" I yelled back.

"Don't let her kill you!"

I stopped for a second, before turning around to look at him. "She might!"

Brad just laughed, turning his back to walk over to the weight bench. I went into the locker room and took a quick shower, because I figured Sam wasn't going to give me any time to do it once I got home. After I got dressed I got in my car and went back to the apartment.

"Sam!" I yelled as I walked in the apartment. "I'm back! Got your message loud and clear!"

No answer. Hmmm.

"Sam?"

Still no answer. I dropped my duffel bag on the ground before walking back to our bedroom, opening the door. "Sam...damn!" I yelled as I took stock of Sam laying on the bed. She didn't have anything on except those shoes I loved, and the way she was laying let me see all of her. God, she was sexy.

"Hey baby," she said, looking up at me with a sweet smile. "How was your workout?"

"Pretty good," I responded. "But something tells me my workout's not over yet."

She shook her head. "No," she said, rising to her knees. "Come here."

Well, who was I to argue with my hot naked wife? I approached the bed, ripping my shirt off over my head. "You know," I said, my arms going around her to rub at the soft skin of her back. "If you just came at me like this whenever you wanted me to do something, you'd win every argument."

"Hmm, I'll have to remember that," she responded with a grin, before kissing me, her arms going around my neck. I pulled her off the bed to her feet, letting go of her and taking a step back.

"Wha-" she started, but I just shook my head, pressing a finger to her lips.

"Quiet," I replied. "Stand there for a second."

"Why?" she asked.

"What'd I tell you about questioning me?" I asked, grabbing a handful of her hair and pressing up against her, my mouth inches from hers, our eyes locked. "Hmm?"

"That you'll make me pay for it," she responded, breathing a little heavy.

"You trying to get me to make you pay, huh baby?" I asked, grinding into her a little, my arm going around her waist so she wouldn't step back.

"Yes," she said simply, moving forward to kiss me, but I moved my head, letting go of her and stepping back.

"Well, that's interesting," I responded. "Now be still."

She sighed, a little irritated, crossing her arms over her chest, but I grabbed her hands and moved them back down.

"Don't cover those up," I said with a smirk, beginning to walk around her. "Am I frustrating you, baby?"

"Is it obvious?" she responded. I didn't answer, I was too busy checking out the sight of her standing there in nothing but those incredibly tall heels. God she looked sexy. This girl was going to drive me crazy. I walked behind her, brushing her hair over her shoulders before grabbing her and pulling her against me, kissing the back of her neck, my hands going around to run down her body. She sighed, laying her head back on my shoulder, leaving her neck exposed for me to kiss and lick.

"Have you been a bad girl today?" I murmured in her ear, grinding against her. She gasped as my hand found her most sensitive spot, rubbing over it repeatedly. "Answer me."

"Yes," she said with a little moan.

"Yes what?" I responded, catching her ear between my teeth.

"Yes, I've been a bad girl," she replied breathlessly. She tried to turn around, but I grabbed her hips to keep her from doing that.

"So what do you think I should do about that?" I asked. "Hmm?"

"I..." she trailed off, unsure of how to respond.

"What should I do?" I asked again. "You had to have some ideas in your pretty little head when you sent me that little video."

"I wanted you to throw me on the bed and fuck my brains out," she replied. I smirked, continuing to rub at her.

"That just seems a little too easy."

Sam groaned in frustration, forcing my hand away before turning around to face me, and I picked her up and tossed her on the bed before coming over her, kissing her passionately. Her hands went to my belt, but I pulled away, standing up.

"Ugh, Freddie!" she whined.

"What's wrong, baby?" I asked. Part of me just wanted to jump on her and give her exactly what she wanted, but I was enjoying just looking at her too.

"You know what!" she growled, sitting up. I just shoved her down onto her back again, before undoing my belt myself before pulling my jeans and boxers off, and then dropping to my knees, throwing her legs over my shoulders and taking my time kissing up and down her thighs. I spent quite awhile teasing her, my mouth everywhere except where she really wanted it. She growled again, and then I arched forward in pain as I realized she'd just stabbed me in the back with the heel of her shoe. Oh, hell no. I came over top of her, jerking her head back and biting her shoulder.

"Someone's being VERY bad tonight," I said as I ran my tongue over the spot I'd just bitten.

"You deserve it," she hissed, arching into me.

"Maybe," I responded, standing up. "But I'm just getting started."

~*Sam*~

I was really in for it now. Freddie stood up, just looking at me laying across the bed completely naked and exposed, a serious expression on his face as his eyes traveled up and down my body. God, this was just SO hot. He looked like he was weighing his options, trying to decide what he'd do to me first. I was completely at his mercy, and I didn't want to be anywhere else. I just stared up at him, licking my lips, waiting for him to make a move. But he wasn't doing anything but staring at me. It was starting to make me a little nervous. Of course, that's probably what he wanted. He was a big fan of catching me off-guard.

He suddenly grabbed my hips, yanking me to the edge of the bed, my legs hanging over, before dropping down to his knees and pulling my legs over his shoulders, as he had before. I probably shouldn't stab him with my heel again, or I'd be in even more trouble. I gasped as I felt his tongue run teasingly up my center, arching my back a bit. He held my hips down so I couldn't grind against him. Shit. He was really going to tease me bad tonight.

He was going excruciatingly slow, licking slow circles over me, but avoiding the one spot I wanted his tongue to hit most. I groaned, trying in vain to lift my hips up. I couldn't hardly move an inch like this, and that's exactly what he wanted. Pretty soon, I could feel my lower body begin to throb, and I started whining.

"Freddie..." I said pitifully. "Stop teasing me...please..."

Freddie didn't respond, just continued to lick me and refuse to touch that hot, sensitive little bundle of nerves between my legs, that was literally SCREAMING to be toyed with. He let go of one of my hips to trail his hand up my body, toying with my breasts, and I moaned, arching my back to give him better access. God, he STILL wasn't giving me what I wanted, what I needed. I was able to move a little more though now that he'd let go of one side of me, and I thrust my hips up quickly, trying to hit his tongue with my sensitive, neglected clit. I did, and I threw my head back, moaning. God, finally.

Freddie wasn't having it though, he brought his forearm down over my pelvis, holding me back down. God, now I couldn't move at all, less than when he was holding both of my hips down. He lifted his head to make eye contact with me, and his eyes were so dark, turned on, and a little bit pissed I'd managed to jerk control out of his hands for a second.

"That was a bad move, baby," he growled at me. Ugh, that made my stomach flip flop. I was in for a torturous but amazing night. I doubt we'd even leave the room for the rest of the evening. He lowered his head back down to me, resuming his old pattern of licking everywhere except where I really wanted it. I moaned in frustration. God, he was killing me! His hand continued to massage and toy with my breasts, and I felt like every nerve in my body would snap. He continued the same process for probably five minutes, and I couldn't take it much longer, I had to start begging.

"Baby...please...please...oh god..."

"Please what?" he asked, looking up at me, letting go of my breasts to run a finger up and down my sensitive slit.

"You know what! You're killing me, baby!"

"Am I?" he replied, laughing a little. "Because I think you like it. In fact," he thrust a finger inside me suddenly, making me moan. "I know you do...you're so wet."

"Because you've got me all riled up!" I whined. "God...Freddie..."

"You want my tongue right here?" he asked, rubbing over my clit with his thumb. I arched my back so severely it almost hurt, crying out.

"Yes! God yes! Right there...oh god..."

He pulled away suddenly, and I wanted to hit him. Fuck this, it was too much. I moved to sit up, and he just shoved me back onto the bed.

"Lay down," he growled. "I'm not finished with you yet."

I stared at him wordlessly, wondering what his next move would be. He stood up, and I stared at him, fully naked and ready to go. God, he was so, so sexy. Being able to stare at his gorgeous body got me even more worked up. God, I didn't need that right now. I was worked up enough already.

He came over me suddenly, kissing me passionately, rubbing his chest against mine. I loved that feeling. I went to wrap a leg over his back, but he pulled it back down. He didn't lay between my legs like he normally did, he laid down next to me, his mouth covering one breast and letting one of his hands go between my legs, his fingers running lightly over me. Still NOT touching me where I wanted him to. Oh, god! He was really being an asshole tonight! But I could feel him against my leg, and I knew he was just as turned on as I was. He was really enjoying doing this to me. I felt like I was going to snap.

"Freddie, baby, please!" I begged. "I can't take it anymore! God!" I moaned, trying to grind against his hand, but his leg came over my waist so I couldn't move away, and he continued licking and sucking at my breasts, rubbing me but avoiding my most sensitive spot, growling a little against my skin.

Then he just stopped rubbing me all together! I wanted to kill him! He straddled me, focusing all of his attention on my breasts. He had my legs pinned in a way I couldn't grind against him or anything, and I started to squirm, trying to free myself. This was just too much, I couldn't handle it. My nerves couldn't take it. I started to try and push him off me, but he just grabbed my arms, pinning them above my head.

"Freddie, stop! This is just mean!" I cried out in frustration. He didn't even answer me, just continued to toy with my body.

I was about to really lose it and start yelling at him, when I started to feel that familiar, amazing sensation of my lower body pulsing, tightening up. I started feeling lightheaded and dizzy and I started shaking.

No way. It couldn't be, there was no way in hell he could make me do that just playing with my chest, it didn't make sense.

It may not have made sense, but it happened anyway, and pretty soon after that I felt myself lose control, throwing my head back and letting out a loud moan.

"Aaaah! Freddie! Fuck! Baby...ohhh god...yesss..." I cried out, still shaking. Freddie lifted his head to start nibbling and biting on my ear.

"Yeah, there you go baby. Come for me, that's what I was going for..." he murmured in my ear. He kissed me softly before letting go of my arms, but I just laid there, still feeling the after effects of an amazing orgasm...and being utterly confused. How the hell did that happen?

I didn't get a chance to ask him, because he stood up suddenly, grabbing my arms and pulling me up.

"Turn around," he said forcefully. "On your knees."

I did what he asked immediately. It turned me on so bad to hear him boss me around. I hated when he tried bossing me around in front of people, but as soon as we were alone I practically begged him to, or at least baited him into it by acting like a little brat.

Freddie just stood there for a moment looking at me.

"Damn, baby," he said, shaking his head. "You're so fucking hot." He joined me on the bed, getting behind me, and he slid into me slowly, letting me feel every inch. I moaned, still sensitive from the previous orgasm. He bent over me, kissing my back, making me shiver. It drove me crazy when he did that.

"God, you feel so good," I moaned, moving against him. His hands went to my hips and he began moving in and out of me, slowly at first, but I guess after all the teasing he'd been doing to me he was good and worked up, and started picking his speed up. He reached underneath me to finally rub at the spot I'd been begging him to for almost half an hour, and my eyes rolled back in my head as I felt myself explode again.

"Aaah!"

"Damn, baby, already?" he teased me. I tried to push his hand away, but he wouldn't let me. "First you beg for it, now you want me to stop. Make up your mind, Sammy."

"Freddie..." I moaned, not sure if I wanted him to stop or not. "Oh my god...fuck...yes..." I started zoning out, lost in the feelings, but I know I was emitting a string of various curse words, because Freddie's hand suddenly came down on my ass hard.

"You've got a dirty mouth today, don't you baby?" he growled, leaning over me to nibble at that spot on my back again. "You're being a very bad girl today."

"You like it when I'm bad," I moaned, slamming back into him hard, making him groan.

"You're right about that," he responded, grunting, and picked up his pace even more. I couldn't even respond, it felt so good. I was starting to completely lose touch with reality. Eventually I wasn't even able to hold my weight up with my arms anymore and I just buried my face in the bed. Probably a good thing, because I couldn't control how loud I was being anymore, and I was screaming and moaning at the top of my lungs. My sexy ass husband had REALLY gotten to me today. Damn he was good.

I lifted my head back up, it was getting a little hard to breathe with my face in the mattress like that. But I was powerless to control my vocal cords. I couldn't control anything right now. At that moment, every single part of me, body, mind, and soul, belonged to Freddie.

"Oh god, baby! Freddie! Oh baby..." I trailed off, grinding against him with reckless abandon. "Ohhh...fuck me!"

"Damn!" Freddie hissed, stopping suddenly. I could feel him twitch inside me, but he didn't move for a few seconds. He was breathing so heavy. He started moving again, and I moaned as I felt him grinding into me.

"You almost made me lose it with that, baby," he moaned. "Say it again..."

I looked over my shoulder at him evilly. "Make me," I said, gasping suddenly when I felt his arm go underneath my body and pull me up so my back was against his chest, still buried deep inside me. Oh god, that felt good. He kept one arm locked around me, his other hand grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling my head back.

"Say it again," he murmured in my ear, moving faster. "Please. Say it again..." He moved his hips in a circular motion, the one that drove me crazy.

"Fuck me, baby...oh god..." I moaned, my nails digging into his forearm. "God, this feels so good...I fucking love you...AAAH!" I cried out suddenly as he let go of my hair and started rubbing over my clit.

"Come on, baby," he murmured in my ear, licking right behind it. "Come for me. And say it again. Please, baby...you're so fucking sexy..." he started rubbing me faster, harder, moving in and out of me at the same pace. Oh my god. We'd had some AMAZING sex before, but NOTHING like this. This was so incredible. I felt like I might not survive it. I could feel my body tightening up again. God, this was going to be so intense it was almost scary.

"Say it baby," he whispered in my ear. "Say it!" He thrust into me hard, right against my g-spot.

"Aaah!" I cried out. "Fuck me!"

"Come on, baby, come for me...I wanna feel it..."

A few seconds later, he felt it. And man, did I feel it. I thought it would go on forever, and he wasn't far behind. Apparently profanity got us going pretty hard or something, because from the way he sounded, his climax was just as intense as mine! Oh my god, we were just amazing together. After I came back down to earth though, I just collapsed onto the bed, laying on my stomach, completely unable to move. He laid down next to me, and I could feel him shaking. So was I. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer to him, his face buried in my shoulder. I felt him kiss my neck, and I turned my head to look at him, completely out of it.

"Was that..." I trailed off.

"The most amazing, incredible sex we've EVER had?" he finished. "I think so."

I was silent for a moment, then looked back at him. "Can you have a heart attack from sex?"

Freddie laughed, kissing me. "Probably not at seventeen, baby."

I rolled over to face him, draping a leg over his waist. "So that really got you going, huh?"

He nodded. "You losing it makes me lose it."

"And how did you..." I trailed off, and he smirked.

"Read about it online, just wanted to see if I could do it.

"Wow," I said softly. "You need to like...write that down." He laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't forget."

~*Carly*~

God, please let today go better than yesterday, I thought to myself as I walked down the hallway with Brad, looking around somewhat fearfully. The boys weren't going to keep putting up with random dudes taking shots at them. I guess that's what people were going for though, to see just how angry they could make us before we started fighting back. I didn't want to go there, and I was trying to keep Brad from going there too, but if they kept pushing us I was just going to release Brad like a caged tiger and let him deal with it. He was getting good at boxing, really good. I'd never seen him at the gym in an actual ring before, but I'd watched him and Freddie go at it at the apartment sometimes, and he had definitely come a lot further than he had been when he first started. I felt sorry for whoever pissed him off enough to make him take a swing.

"Hey Melanie," I said as I watched her walk by with Kristen and Megan.

"Hey loser!" she responded, making Kristen and Megan laugh. I rolled my eyes, but as they walked past, I looked over my shoulder to see Melanie give me a wave.

'Sorry!' she mouthed. 'Love you!'

I rolled my eyes again. Ugh, this was getting so out of control. At least Freddie and Sam were here finally, I noted as I watched them walk through the double doors.

"Wow, you guys are actually on time today!" I noted. "No early morning distractions?"

"Uh, no..." Sam trailed off with a laugh. "I'm...a little tired."

"What? Why?" I asked, but I dropped it as I watched Freddie throw an arm around Brad.

"Dude, I GOTTA talk to you, like NOW!" Freddie said, and Brad looked a little weary.

"About what?"

"Uh...the thing? That we read about?"

"What thing?" Brad asked, perplexed.

"The thing! On the internet!" Freddie said, giving Brad a pointed look, and Brad's eyebrows went up.

"Oh. Oh! Oh damn, yeah!" Brad exclaimed. He turned to look at me. "I'll be right back!"

"What? What's going on?" I asked as they practically ran around the corner. I moved to follow them, but Sam grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Nope!" she said. "Just let them talk."

"Why? What's going on?" I asked. "I thought we said no more secrets!"

"Oh, it won't be a secret for long," she said with a grin. "Trust me. You'll want to hold a parade for Freddie after this. TRUST. ME." She said with a raise of her eyebrows.

I had no idea what she was talking about, and it drove me nuts when the three of them were in on something I wasn't. But if Sam told me to wait and see, I guess I would. She hadn't steered me wrong, at least not where Brad was concerned.

"Well...okay," I said uncertainly.

"So guess what?" Sam asked me, and I shrugged.

"I dunno, what?"

"I haven't had to bug Freddie about his shots in three days!" she exclaimed. "Isn't that awesome?"

My eyes widened. Wow, maybe Freddie WAS finally taking this seriously! That was good news for all of us, because we'd had to watch him like a hawk lately. It was starting to get pretty old, he was old enough to be able to handle and deal with this on his own.

"Sam, that's great," I said. "So you guys aren't fighting about it anymore then?"

"Nope," she responded. "And that was the only thing we've been having an issue with. I think things are finally starting to get back to normal."

"And by normal you mean..."

"Can't keep our hands off each other, or our mouths," she said with a grin. "And he's back to being sweet and helpful and not grouchy. I mean, you know, after he's all chocked full of caffeine. The boy can't help it until he starts throwing back those sugar-free energy shots we found online."

"God, I'm just glad we found a replacement for his coffee," I complained. "I almost punched him last week, and I'm not even violent!"

Sam shrugged. "Well, it's all good now," she responded.

"Your mom's all good!" I heard a voice shout, and we both glared at Caleb and Adam as they walked by.

"Go to hell!" Sam hissed at them, but they just ignored her, focusing their attention on me.

"Yo, Carly, when you gonna drop that skinny bitch and get with a real man?" Caleb asked. He took a step towards me, but I practically hid behind Sam. Caleb wouldn't mess with her, unless he wanted to get his nose broken again.

"Why are you asking her that?" Sam asked. "Do you know one?"

"Maybe you," Caleb responded. "You sure act like a dude."

"No, but if I had a dick I'd tell you to suck it," she snapped, taking a step forward.

"And if you had balls I'd kick you in them, just like I did your husband," he replied with an evil smile.

WHACK!

"Aw, look at that, you got bitch-slapped again, bitch!" she said, smiling back. Caleb practically hissed at her, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Watch your back, little girl," he responded. "You wanna hit like a man, you can get hit back like one."

"As I said before, when you find a real man, I'll take the hit," she replied. She looked over her shoulder. "FREDDIE!" she yelled.

Freddie and Brad popped back around the corner immediately. "What's wrong?" Freddie asked, then he noticed she and Caleb were inches away from each other. "What the hell's going on?"

"Caleb's hitting on Carly. And threatening to hit me," she responded, looking up at him.

"So Caleb wants to get his ass beat?" Freddie responded, stepping between them and glaring at Caleb. They were equally matched in height, but Freddie was WAY more built than Caleb, and everyone involved in this situation knew if Caleb hadn't pulled that cheap shot that night on the fire escape Freddie would have beat him senseless.

"Guys..." I warned. "Not here."

Freddie and Caleb just continued to glare at each other, and Brad pushed past me to walk around behind them. He glared at Adam, and Adam took a step back. He talked a big game, but he wasn't exactly a tough guy. I was sure someone was going to throw a punch, and if it happened to be Caleb, Freddie and Brad would probably start wailing on him at the same time.

Oh god, this was going to be really bad! Before anyone could move though, Principal Franklin came walking out of his office. He took stock of the situation and rushed over, stepping in between Freddie and Caleb.

"Alright, you guys break it up! What's going on here?"

Freddie just glared at Caleb. "Nothing," he responded to Principal Franklin. "If the kid's smart, anyway."

"Just messing around, Principal Franklin," Caleb said to him.

Principal Franklin looked at both of them with a stern expression. "Fine, but you two start fighting, you're suspended. You know we have a zero-tolerance policy in this school. Caleb, move along."

Caleb acquiesced as Principal Franklin ushered him away from us, but he looked over his shoulder at us with this evil look that made me think it wasn't quite over yet.

"What happened?" Brad asked me as he threw an arm over my shoulders, pulling me to him.

"Sam bitch-slapped him," I replied.

"Again?" Freddie asked. I expected him to yell at her, but instead he just pulled her into his arms, hugging her. "That's my girl," he said with a kiss on the top of her head.

I rolled my eyes. Great way to keep Sam's violent streak under control, Freddie! Encourage it! The bell rang suddenly, and we all groaned.

"Ugh, come on Sam, we're going to be late," I said. "And we have a test."

"Nooo..." she whined. "I hate tests."

"I know, me too. But come on." I turned to Brad. "See you later baby."

"Okay," he replied, kissing me. "Love you."

"Love you too," he responded.

"Hey what were you guys talking about anyway?" I asked, and I watched Brad's eyes slide over to Freddie, who just grinned at him.

"Uh...I'll show you...I mean...tell you...tonight," he replied, making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"What?" I asked.

"Carly, just go!" Freddie said, giving me a shove towards Sam. "You guys are gonna be late!"

"Ugh, fine! But you guys are gonna tell me eventually!" I started walking away, but then Freddie yelled something at me that made me turn my head to look at him.

"By the way, you're welcome!"

"For what?" I asked Sam, still confused, and she just laughed. Oh my god, what was going on?

"Come on, Carly!" she said with a giggle, shoving me towards class.

~*Freddie*~

Shit.

That's all I could keep saying to myself, over and over and over as I pawed frantically through my backpack. Where were the damn insulin pens? I was absolutely certain I'd put two of them in my backpack this morning, and now I couldn't find them. Of course, I was in such a hurry after sleeping in that maybe I'd left them on the counter.

I groaned to myself as I heard the third period bell rang. Great, my class was on the other side of the school. I was going to be late. If I got one more tardy in that class I was going to get detention!

Okay, think, Freddie. I'm pretty sure I could wait until after class to just get one of the extra insulin pens Sam kept in her locker. I'd been on time with all my other shots lately and my levels were normal. Yeah, I could put it off, it's not a big deal. I think?

Dammit. I didn't want Sam to think I was being irresponsible with this whole thing again. We'd been doing so well since I stopped putting everything on her shoulders. But it's not like I could pull her out of class to open her locker, and I didn't know her combination.

I sighed as I heard the second bell. Shit, I was definitely late now! Without giving the pen another thought, I zipped up my backpack and began hauling ass out of the bathroom and down the hallway.

I'd be fine. I was only putting it off for an hour. I'd be fine.

Right?


	58. Chapter 58: Words of Love

**A/N: Yay, got this finished tonight! And, uh...drama llamas. Yeah...a whole entire herd of drama llamas. Baaah, baby!**

**Chapter Fifty Eight:**  
><strong>Words of Love<strong>

~*Carly*~

"I don't care, Carly! I really want to beat that kid's ass!" Brad growled to me as we stood by the lockers, waiting for Sam and Freddie to show up so we could go to lunch.

"Look, I'm just saying, don't do it in school, okay? If you run into him outside school, that's fine, but you don't want to get suspended, do you? Your dad would flip out!" I replied.

"Yeah, no kidding," he responded with a grimace. "Hey, there's Freddie," he said, and then his face went from normal to concerned. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Where's Sam?" Freddie asked, leaning against the locker with a sickly expression on his face. He looked a bit pale, and he had that dizzy look in his eyes. I looked over at Brad in horror.

Oh god, he'd forgotten to take his shot!

"Freddie?" I asked, shutting my locker and rushing over to him. "Are you alright?"

"No," he responded. "I'm not."

"Did you forget again?" I asked.

"No! I couldn't find it!" he responded, sounding a little panicked. "God, Sam's gonna kill me!"

"No, she's not, she'll understand...Brad, stay here with him, I'll go get Sam!" I said, dropping my backpack and running down the hallway. I had a pretty good idea where she'd be, she always stopped by the computer room to talk to her sister because none of Melanie's friends shared that class, and they didn't have to worry about Mel getting busted talking to Sam, whom she pretended to hate during school hours. I skidded around a corner, nearly knocking a few freshman over.

"Hey!" a girl yelled at me as her books and papers scattered everywhere.

"Sorry!" I yelled, running faster. I slowed to a halt as I spotted Sam leaning against the water fountain, talking to Melanie.

"Sam!" I hollered, and she looked up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, standing up straight. Melanie straightened up too, looking at me with concern.

"Sam, we gotta go now!" I yelled. "Freddie couldn't find his pen and..."

"Oh, shit!" she said. "I told him NOT to forget them!" She turned to Melanie. "I'll talk to you later!" With that, she began running towards me, and then we both began running down the hallway. We tried to scoot around a group of kids, and while I managed to just push them aside, Sam just knocked a few of them right over, not even looking back to apologize.

I was running so fast I managed to slide right into Brad, crashing into him and knocking both of us into the lockers.

"Freddie!" Sam yelled as she came to a halt in front of him. "Baby, I told you not to forget!" She took his face in her hands and looked at his eyes carefully. He looked pretty dazed, whiter than before, and sweaty.

"I didn't forget!" he yelled, lifting a hand to his head and grimacing. "Oww...fuck..."

"Okay, okay. Just sit down, okay?" she responded, her hands going to his shoulders and pushing until he slid down the lockers into a sitting position. She quickly opened her locker and started rummaging through it, knocking books and papers out, scattering them all over the ground. I knelt down next to Freddie, trying to keep him from freaking out, while Brad stood in front of him, his back to us, trying to block us from view so we wouldn't draw attention.

I watched Sam continue pawing through her locker, and an insulin pen clattered to the floor. "Sam, it's right here!" I said, picking it up.

"No, not that one!" she replied. "I need the white one! The white one's the fast acting one!" She continued going through her locker.

"Sam, we don't have time for this! It doesn't matter which one!" Brad exclaimed, but Sam ignored him.

"A-ha!" she shouted victoriously, holding up the white insulin pen in her hand. She quickly dropped to her knees and grabbed Freddie by his belt loop, yanking his hips forward so his body was stretched out a bit more, then pulling his shirt up. She pulled the cap off the pen and tapped it a few times before sticking it into his stomach. He grimaced, laying his head against the locker, and Sam counted to five, her free hand rubbing his neck comfortingly. She pulled it out and then dropped it on the ground, getting between his legs and kissing his forehead.

"It's okay, baby," she whispered. "It's okay."

I breathed a sigh of relief, rising to my knees and leaning against the locker, trying to calm down, my eyes closed, and then I felt Brad pull me forward and against him. Ugh, thank god it was over. Thank god he didn't pass out.

"Baby, I told you," Sam said softly. "I told you not to forget."

"I didn't," he said weakly. Sam didn't get up, she just continued to kneel on the ground in front of him, staring at him intently and rubbing his shoulders, waiting for the insulin to kick back in.

I heard a snicker behind us, and looked over Brad's shoulder to see Caleb, Colin, and Adam watching us intently and laughing.

"Can I help you?" I snapped, moving away from Brad and walking around him. I heard Sam swear under her breath, but she didn't even look up, she was too concerned with Freddie.

"Aw, what's wrong with Benson?" Caleb asked. That got Sam's attention. She looked over her shoulder, glaring at them.

"None of your fucking business!" she growled.

"Looking for these?" Caleb asked, pulling something out his pocket. I gasped when I realized he was holding two of Freddie's insulin pens. "You should really keep a closer eye on your backpack, Freddie!" he said, before tossing the pens onto the ground.

Brad grabbed my shoulder and moved me back behind him, before stepping forward and shoving Caleb violently. "You stupid motherfucker!" he shouted. "He can go into a fucking coma without those things!"

"Aw, poor baby," Caleb responded, staring him down.

I thought for sure Brad was going to hit him, and he indeed pulled his fist back to start, but before he could connect, Sam had already jumped to her feet and tackled Caleb, knocking him to the ground and straddling him, throwing hits left and right.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed. "How many times did I fucking tell you to leave him ALONE! I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Okay, that was it, I'd had it with all of this. I took back everything I'd said about retaliation. This time, they'd gone too far. I looked down at Freddie, who was sitting there with an angry expression on his face, because he knew he was still too weak to do anything about what was happening in front of him. He was going to have to let Sam and Brad take this one. I knelt down next to him, trying to take his mind off what was going on. I knew he felt shitty about this, he hated being weak and powerless. Ugh, this had to sting.

"Freddie..." I trailed off.

"As soon as I get up, that kid's dead," he growled.

"Don't get up!" I said. "Just wait!"

Brad had already managed to punch Colin in the face, and as usual Adam was just standing there watching like a total wuss. But then something happened. Something I had never seen in my life, and I didn't want to see again.

Sam was still over Caleb, hitting him, when he suddenly back-handed her across the face. She fell backward, and he sprang to his feet, kicking her right in the stomach. I felt sick as I heard his foot make contact, and she hollered out in pain.

"Sam!" Freddie yelled, pulling himself to his feet and rushing over to her. He was still a little weak, too weak to kick Caleb's ass, but Brad was just as pissed as he was.

"Oh, fuck that!" Brad hollered, grabbing Caleb by the back of the neck and then suddenly throwing him headfirst into the locker. I was barely able to get out of the way before Caleb hit the ground. My hands flew to my face in shock. Oh, my god! Did that just happen?

Brad grabbed him again, yanking him up by the back of the neck and practically dragging him towards the door.

"Brad!" I screamed, running behind them. "What are you doing?"

"Stay here, Carly!" he yelled. The look on his face was downright scary. He brought his attention back to Caleb. "You're fucked!" He kicked the double doors open and shoved Caleb out of them.

Oh god, what do I do? I turned back to Sam and Freddie. The sudden shock of actually seeing his wife get hit by a man seemed to bring Freddie back to normal.

"Baby, let me see!" he said, grabbing her face. Oh god, her lip was bleeding!

"I'm fine!" she said, jerking her face away. He pulled her shirt up to look at her stomach, which had a bright red mark in the center of it, and would probably bruise. She stood up slowly, wincing in pain.

Freddie was fuming. "I'll be right back," he said.

"Freddie! You can't get in a fight, the shot hasn't kicked in!" I called.

"Carly, I got this. He's fucked." Oh god, that's what Brad just said.

"Freddie, you CAN'T fight, you're too weak!" I yelled, grabbing his arm. Oh god, Carly, why did you just say that? Freddie whirled around, jerking his arm away and glaring at me.

"Don't EVER say that to me again," he said lowly, before brushing past me.

I opened my mouth to say something else, but Freddie blew right past me, going out the double doors that slammed shut behind him.

"Sam!" I yelled, grabbing her as she tried to run past me. "No way!"

"Let me go, Carly! I'm gonna kill that guy!"

"Sam he almost took your head off!" I cried. "You can't do this!"

"Freddie could have gotten really sick, Carly!" she said, breathing heavily. "He's dead. He is SO dead!"

"Sam! Brad's got it, okay?"

She glared at me, then looked over at Adam and Colin, who were looking at us in shock.

"Sam, we're sorry, we didn't think Caleb was going to do that!" Adam said defensively. Sam didn't speak, just leered at them, before shoving past me and running towards him at top speed.

"SAM!" I screamed.

~*Brad*~

"I just wanna know, WHAT ON EARTH were you three thinking?" Principal Franklin yelled as he paced back and forth.

It had taken three teachers and two students to pull me and Freddie off Caleb after we'd shoved him out the doors in front of the school. Normally it took awhile for Freddie's insulin to kick in, but his adrenaline had overridden it after watching Caleb hit Sam. We both just lost it. I'd managed to get a few good hits in before Freddie came storming out and threw himself on Caleb. He was in such a frenzy he'd managed to accidentally hit me, and damn it hurt, but I just shrugged it off, grabbing Caleb's arms from behind and letting Freddie wail on him. It was eerily reminiscent of the ravine incident, and I think Freddie'd had some sort of flashback, because he just lost it. I'd finally just let Caleb drop and we'd started kicking him, and then Caleb had grabbed Freddie's leg and yanking him to the ground. It was a bad move, because then Freddie had just started hitting him again. And then I did too.

Apparently while we were doing that, Sam had recovered from her hit and started hitting Adam, then Colin, while Carly had just stood back and watched, frozen with fear. I felt bad for her, I didn't like her watching me turn into this person, or getting put in the middle of all this. But you just DON'T hit a girl. And you don't take a guy's medication he needs to keep from going into a diabetic coma either. Those stupid sons of bitches deserved it.

Freddie was ignoring Principal Franklin completely, he was too focused on Sam, holding a tissue to her lip, which had been split open, his other hand running through her hair. Sam was ignoring the Principal too, they were just staring at each other. I couldn't tell what they were thinking.

"Both of you, LOOK AT ME!" he roared. They snapped out of their trance, looking up at him.

"Caleb is in an AMBULANCE right now, and Adam and Colin are in bad shape too! What on earth? This is the last thing I EVER would have expected from you three!"

Sam glared at him, and Freddie put his hand on her leg to calm her, but it didn't make a difference.

"Did you know that Freddie has type 1 diabetes, Principal Franklin?" she snapped. "He got it about a month ago."

Principal Franklin was silent, continuing to stare at her, and she kept talking.

"He almost passed out in the hallway because he couldn't find his insulin pen today! And do you know why? Because Caleb TOOK IT out of his backpack! Freddie could have gone into a diabetic COMA because of that idiot!" she yelled.

"You calm down, Samantha!" Principal Franklin said. "That doesn't give you three the right to violently attack them!"

"No, but hitting a girl does!" I spoke up. "Sam knocked Caleb down and he HIT HER across the face, and then kicked her in the stomach! I'm not gonna put up with that, and neither is Freddie! You're lucky the bastard's not dead!"

"You're all suspended. For a month," Principal Franklin said. "And I'm calling your parents."

My eyes widened in shock. Oh shit! I was dead!

"You can't call our parents," Sam replied. "My mom's in prison and Freddie and I are emancipated anyway! The only thing you can do is suspend us!"

"You do realize criminal charges can be filed. And they probably will."

Sam and Freddie just stared at me wordlessly, and I shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know, guys! I don't think we can get out of this one," I commented softly. "I'm dead."

"Get out of it?" Principal Franklin asked. "You know, I don't know what's gotten into you two, Sam, Freddie, but I'm extremely disappointed. You two were good kids, until you got ahold of each other."

"No," Freddie spoke up. "We were weak kids, until we got ahold of each other."

Sam nodded. "And we're not letting go." Sam and Freddie looked at each other for a long time, not speaking. I watched Freddie's eyebrows go up, and Sam nodded, before they both stood up.

"I didn't tell you two you could get up," Principal Franklin said.

"Doesn't matter," Freddie said with a shrug.

"Yeah, because we quit," Sam added.

Wait, WHAT?

"QUIT?" Principal Franklin and I yelled at the same time.

"You have one semester until you graduate!"

"You guys can't quit!" I yelled.

"Yeah, we can!" Sam said, glaring at Principal Franklin. "We are tired of this stupid school pushing us around. We are DONE. FUCK THIS SCHOOL!" she yelled. "Brad, call us, okay?"

"What? But guys!" I yelled as they turned and walked out of the office. "You guys suck!" I yelled, leaping to my feet.

"Sit down, Brad," Principal Franklin said. "I have to call your father."

Oh god, it was all over now. Off to military school. No more Ridgeway. No more friends. No more webshow I loved working on more than anything.

And no more Carly.

~*Sam*~

"I can't believe we did that," I said as Freddie dragged me out of the Principal's office. "Should we have done that?"

"Do you want to keep going through this?" Freddie said gruffly as he opened his locker and began pulling stuff out. "Because I don't!"

"But, Freddie! We're dropping out! Think about that, baby!" I said, shaking his shoulders. "We are DROPPING. OUT. Do you get that?"

"No we're not," he replied. "We're leaving school. We're not dropping out."

"What are you talking about? It's the same thing!"

"Sam," he stopped what he was doing and looked at me. "They have school online. We can do that. We could get our diplomas before everyone else finishes with this semester. Start getting your stuff." He turned and went back to emptying his locker.

"But...Freddie," I said. "What about...you know...your mom? The whole high school graduation thing? Do you really see yourself not doing that?"

"Sam!" he said. "Just stop, okay? We made our decision, we have to stick to it. And no, I didn't think it would turn out like that, but I didn't think I was going to get married at sixteen either!"

I stared at the ground, a little sad, and Freddie's hand went to my chin, tilting it up. "But I wouldn't change it for anything," he said, kissing me.

"Ow," I said, pulling away and touching my busted lip. He sighed, running his fingers through my hair.

"Baby..." he trailed off. "Are you alright?"

"I'm a lot better off than Caleb. What if his parents press charges?"

"I'll call Uncle Milton when we get home, he'll tell us what to do. And maybe after Brad's dad calms down he can be of some help too."

I sighed, leaning against the lockers.

"Baby, PLEASE," Freddie said, "Please trust me and let me handle things, okay? I'm not gonna steer you wrong, we're gonna look into some online high schools, get our diplomas early, and then we'll have a break before college. A long break. Don't you want that? Time away from all this drama? Time to just be us, and not have to worry about stupid high school kids?"

I didn't answer, just stared at him, and he continued. "Sam, I'm tired, okay? I'm tired of all of this! We're not like them! Maybe we were at one point, but not anymore! They don't understand us, and we don't understand them! This is for the best, and you KNOW it."

I nodded. "Okay," I said softly. "I'll let you handle this. You're the smart one anyway."

He smiled, before pulling me and kissing me on the side of my mouth that didn't have a cut on it. "You're pretty damn smart yourself, Mrs. Benson."

~*Freddie*~

I thought my mom would NEVER stop yelling, at either of us. She was pissed that we'd both managed to get into a fight, and even more pissed that we'd decided to leave Ridgeway without telling her. But I'd managed to calm her down after I explained what the fight was about, and she grudgingly agreed that maybe leaving Ridgeway and switching to online school was probably the best thing for Sam and I. It was too damn hard trying to work out as a married couple around a bunch of high-schoolers who didn't get it and never would, and amused themselves by causing us grief. Besides, if we just switched out, we could get done faster.

As soon as my mom stopped yelling at us I'd sat down at my computer and began looking up all kinds of online schools, looking for ones that were accredited, allowed us to move through the programs at our own pace, and were reasonably priced. My main priority was getting our diplomas quickly, accredited ones, get accepted into college, and then be able to take a few months off from all of this and just focus on each other. It'd been drama after drama since we'd gotten together. Maybe if we cut down how many things we were involved with the drama would begin to cease a little.

I took a break from research, turning around in my chair to look at Sam, who was laying on our bed, wearing one of my shirts.

"How's your stomach?" I asked softly, getting up and walking over to the bed. She shrugged.

"It hurts," she replied.

"Let me see," I responded, pulling her shirt up to reveal her taut, perfect stomach. It was beginning to bruise a bit. I bent down and kissed the spot softly, before pulling her shirt back down and laying next to her. "You're being quiet."

"Yeah," she said softly, rolling over and cuddling into me. She grabbed my arm and pulled it over her, signaling she wanted me to hold her, to which I happily obliged.

"Why are you being so quiet? I thought you'd be happy about leaving Ridgeway. You hate it."

"It's not that," she said with a sigh. "I'm glad to get out of there early."

"Then what, baby?" I asked, stroking her hair and rubbing her back at the same time.

"I just..." her voice wavered a bit, and I looked at her, surprised. "...it brought back some bad stuff, okay? Getting hit. You and Brad going postal on that bastard for hitting me."

"Oh god, baby...come here," I pulled her even closer to me, and she buried her face in my neck. "It's okay. It's not going to happen again. It's you and me now, we're getting away from all that bullshit."

"Freddie?" she whispered.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Make love to me," she said against my neck. "Slow. And soft."

I didn't respond, just kissed her neck softly, my hands moving to the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head, before unclasping her bra, continuing to kiss over her neck. She sighed, arching into me, her hands going for my shirt. I pulled it off for her, moaning a bit as I felt her hands slide over my back, up and down. I rolled her over onto her back, my mouth moving from her neck to her collarbone, running my tongue across it, making her moan.

"I love you," she said softly, and I lifted my head to kiss her.

"I love you too, baby. Nobody's gonna get away with hurting you, you know that, right?"

She nodded, staring into my eyes. "No one will get away with hurting you either."

"I know, baby." I kissed her again, before going back down, kissing every spot of skin I could, her breasts, her ribs, her stomach. I pulled her boyshorts down her legs before coming between them, taking my time exploring her with my tongue. She arched her back, moaning softly, as I continued hitting all the spots I knew she liked, trying desperately not to tease her this time, my hands moving up to caress her beautiful breasts.

"God, Freddie..." she moaned. "You feel so good..."

"Just getting started, gorgeous," I responded, before going back to licking at her sensitive center, one hand moving down to push a finger inside her. She cried out, her hands going into my hair.

"Don't stop," she begged. "Please don't stop."

I didn't; I licked over her softly, moving a finger in and out of her and rubbing against her g-spot, making her pant and shake against me until she exploded.

"Aaah!" she cried out, her whole body trembling. I pulled my boxers off quickly before kissing up her body until I reached her mouth, kissing her passionately. I kept kissing her as I thrust into her, moving against her in a slow but urgent rhythm. She broke the kiss to bury her face in my shoulder, her hands gripping my back but not digging her nails in. She wrapped her legs around my back like she was trying to get as close to me as possible.

"Oh, baby...Freddie...you feel so good...I love you so much..." she panted, grinding against me urgently.

"I love you too, baby..." I gasped out, trying to control myself. "I got you, baby. Nobody's gonna hurt you. I got you."

"Aaah...Freddie...I'm...oh god...Freddie...FREDDIE!" she cried out as her orgasm hit her full-force.

I wasn't done yet though, even though I was trying desperately to control myself. It wasn't about me, it wasn't about my ego, it wasn't even about trying to make her explode over and over this time...she wanted to feel safe and protected, and this made her feel safe, so I was going to keep going, as long as I could.

"My sweet, sweet baby..." I said, kissing her. "I love you so much...you're everything to me."

She couldn't respond, she was totally gone in the sensations I was making her feel, and that's what I wanted. To force her out of her head. She tended to get lost in there sometimes, and where her mind was right now, she didn't need to be there.

It didn't take me very long to push her into another climax, and she let go again, shuddering against me. God, it was getting impossible to hold out, I couldn't anymore. I finally gave in, burying my face in her neck, moaning against her neck and collapsing on top of her, before rolling off and pulling her back into my arms.

"Feel better?" I asked her, kissing her forehead. She nodded, but remained silent. "Baby," I said, forcing her head up to look at me. "Get out of your head."

"Sorry," she said weakly.

"What do I have to do to get your head straight?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. I sighed, scanning my brain for something to make her feel better.

"Okay," I responded. "I'm gonna tell you a story."

She picked her head and looked up at me. "A story?"

"Mmhmm. It's a fairytale," I replied. "Now lay your head back down." She did, and I rubbed my hand up and down her back softly. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful, misunderstood girl, a princess, with long blonde hair, and the best left hook you've ever seen." I heard her laugh softly, and I continued. "This girl lived in a humble little cottage, but it was filled with monsters. She couldn't get away from the monsters. And then one day she met a prince who lived in a tower. She didn't like him very much, and he didn't like her very much, or so they both thought. But there was really a spell on them, a terrible, evil spell. The spell would make them look for love in all the wrong places, and could only be broken by a kiss from their true love."

Sam moved away from me a little bit so she could look at my face, and we both laid on our sides, staring at each other, both of us playing with the other's hair. I continued to tell her my story.

"The prince was just as unhappy as the princess. He felt weak, and unappreciated, and like he could never do anything right. And he felt like he'd never be able to find anyone to love him. But that was the spell, it had him looking for love in all the wrong places. The princess and prince continued to hate each other, but they didn't know why. Then one day, something happened. The prince and princess got locked in a dungeon together, for an entire night, with a bunch of other people. And for some reason, she didn't know why, the princess kissed the prince. And then the spell was broken. The prince knew he loved her, but he didn't know how to tell her."

Sam bit her bottom lip, and she was getting a little teary-eyed. I kissed her softly and continued my fairytale.

"But then one wild and stormy night, the princess showed up at the tower. She'd been attacked by an evil monster. The prince had to hide her away in his tower, and they were happy together, finally. But the princess began to worry about whether she was putting the prince at risk. So she ran away. She fled to another land. And the prince came after her and brought her back. They married. They were happy. But sometimes monsters come back, and that horrible monster did come back. He hurt the princess, really bad. But the prince wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to lose his true love. He gathered up his knights, and the prince made it so the monster could never hurt the princess ever again. The princess was safe, and they were together. But it wasn't over. There's always more monsters hiding around corners, in different forms, that come out when you least expect it. So the prince still keeps watch. He still fights off the monsters for her. And sometimes the princess has to fight the monsters off for him. But they never stop fighting. They never give up, and even though bad stuff still happens, even though they still have to fight the monsters..." I paused, to kiss her passionately, then pulled away to stare at her.

"...They're still gonna live happily ever after."

Sam didn't speak for a few minutes, just continued to stare at me, her lips curling into a smile.

"I like that story," she whispered.

"I do too," I replied.

"Is it a true story?"

"Oh, it's very true, baby," I said.

"Good," she responded, continuing to stare at me. "Can you tell me the story again?"

I smiled, pulling her back to me so she could lay her head on my chest. "Sure, baby." I kissed the top of her head. "Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful, misunderstood girl, a princess, with long blonde hair..."


	59. Chapter 59: What Goes On

**A/N: Kind of a short chapter, but I actually woke up before noon today, so at least you guys know there's gonna be more updates than usual!**

**Chapter Fifty Nine:  
>What Goes On<strong>

~*Freddie*~

I was laying in bed with Sam, thankful I'd finally managed to get her to chill out. We were just watching tv, zoning out and trying to ignore the day's events, when I heard my mom knock on the door.

"Yeah?" I called, picking my head up.

The door creaked open a bit, and my mom stuck her head in. "Are you guys decent?"

"Something like that," I responded. "What's up?"

"Brad's here."

Sam and I both sat up. We'd been texting him for awhile, and he hadn't responded to either of us. "Send him back here, mom," I replied. "Thanks."

A minute later Brad stuck his head head in the door. "Hey guys...oh. Sorry was I interrupting anything?"

"Nah, we got that out of the way already," I said with a laugh. "Come in, sit down."

Brad plopped down in my desk chair, turning around to look at us.

"Where you been, man?" Sam asked. "You haven't been answering our texts."

"I've been dealing with my dad."

"Is he super pissed?" Sam asked, stretching. She poked me in the ribs. "Baby get me a pair of shorts."

I stood up, walking over to the dresser and pulling a pair of Sam's shorts out of the drawer before throwing them to her, then pulled a shirt on over my head.

"Uh..." Brad trailed off. "Yeah, I'd say so. So you guys are really leaving Ridgeway, huh?"

"Yeah, we're done, dude. It's just not a good place for us."

"Gonna pretty hard for Carly, being there by herself."

"Well you'll be there, after your suspension's over," Sam responded, struggling to pull her shorts on under the sheets.

"No, I won't. I'm out," Brad responded.

"What?" I yelled. "What do you mean you're out? Look, just because Sam and I are throwing in the towel doesn't mean you should, man..." I started, but Brad cut me off.

"I'm not dropping out, Freddie! My dad's sending to military school! In Texas!"

"What?" Sam and I yelled. "Why?"

"He says I don't have enough structure here, that I've gone downhill since we moved here. I'm leaving Sunday."

"He can't do that!" Sam yelled. "This wasn't your fault! This wasn't even your fight, it was ours!"

"Guys, I'm not mad, okay?" Brad said with a forced smile. "You guys are my best friends. If the situation was reversed you would have done the same thing for me. I knew what I was getting into. I was going to Carly's anyway, so I thought I'd swing by and tell you guys in person. I mean, I'll see you before I leave, I'm sure. Just...I don't know." He shrugged, and Sam and I just looked at each other in shock. Sam finally spoke, clearing her throat a bit.

"Are you going to tell Carly tonight?" she asked, and Brad shook his head.

"No. I wanted one good night with her before all this stuff got out. She's gonna freak."

"Yeah," I responded, looking at the ground. "Well...this sucks."

"Yeah, it does," Brad responded. "I really liked, you know, being around you guys."

"Me too, dude," I said. Brad stood up, and we just looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well, I'd hug you but...you're not wearing pants, so...I'm gonna go. I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" Brad stood up suddenly, and gave us a smile that I could tell was trying to be nonchalant, but the kid was absolutely dying inside. Ugh, I felt like shit about this, he only stepped in because I couldn't do it.

I looked at Sam, and she looked at me.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Mmmhmm," she responded, leaping to her feet, pulling off her shorts and throwing her jeans back on. "Get dressed. Hurry up."

~*Sam*~

"Maybe you should let me talk," Freddie said nervously as we stood outside the door to Brad's apartment.

I scoffed. "Yeah, because that always gets things done."

Freddie glared at my wordlessly as I knocked on the door. A minute later, the door opened, revealing Mr. Harrison.

"Freddie...and this must be Sam, right?" he asked, looking at us.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Glad to see you didn't have any permanent injuries from your...incident. But Brad's not here."

"We know," I said, glancing at Freddie. "That's not why we're here."

"We came to talk to you, Mr. Harrison. About Brad. Can we come in?" Freddie asked.

Mr. Harrison looked at us carefully, like he was considering his options, before opening the door all the way. "Oh, alright," he responded. "Have a seat."

Freddie and I walked in and took a seat on the couch. I didn't see any sign of Heather, but Bryson was laying in front of the tv, watching it intently. Leah was sitting next to him, and she looked up at me and gave me that cute little baby grin.

"Aw, Leah!" I cooed, standing up and scooping her up in my arms. "Who's a pretty baby?" I asked in a high-pitched voice. She babbled excitedly at me, and I bounced her up and down on my knee. "Ah! Who's a pretty baby? You're a pretty baby, yes you are! You're so cute! Yes you are!"

"Ahem." Freddie cleared his throat and looked at me pointedly. We weren't here for me to fuss over Brad's little sister.

"Oh. Right. Sorry," I said sheepishly, putting her down. "Okay, Mr. Harrison, we really need to talk to you about Brad. See, the thing is..."

"You can't send him away!" Freddie cried out suddenly, and I put my head in my hands. Ugh, real smooth, Freddie.

"He got into a fight. You all did. Do you have any idea how much weight I had to throw around to convince the DA to avoid pressing charges?" Mr. Harrison snapped. "I'm sorry, but you two are a bad example for Bradley. He needs to go where he can have structure, and discipline."

I opened my mouth to let Brad's dad have it, but Freddie poked me in the rib cage, shaking his head. I took an alternate route, trying to choose my words carefully.

"Okay, maybe we're not the...most...okay whatever, you encouraged your son to attack your partner with a baseball bat and you covered it up by getting your son's girlfriend and older brother to plant drugs in his house. How are WE a bad example?" I snapped.

"That was different, you don't go around attacking girls and women and expect to get away with it!" Mr. Harrison shot back. Yeah, you meet nonconsensually, I thought to myself, but bringing up Brad's parents bedroom tastes probably wasn't the best way to go about things.

"Well, he was taking a page out of your book!" I said, standing up. "The only reason he got into a fight today was because of us! Those stupid jerks stole Freddie's insulin pens out of his backpack, Freddie went down, I freaked out and attacked Caleb first! And then he hit me! And kicked me! Look!" I said, yanking my shirt up. "You see that? The bruise? Not the worst thing I've ever gotten, by far, but looks to me like the outline of a footprint, wouldn't you say? And check this out! This ain't a papercut!" I gestured to my lip.

Mr. Harrison didn't know what to say, so like always, I kept talking.

"We've been taking crap from everybody at school, for weeks! And Brad too, and he was just content to let it all go, until today. Until his best friend went down because some stupid jerk took his medication, and until he watched a six foot tall guy HIT ME," I said. "Brad's a good guy, okay? He's polite, and he has morals, and integrity and he takes care of his friends! And even though all of this has been going on, he's got straight A's! My husband doesn't even have straight A's right now, and his brain is like a freakin' pentium chip!"

"I just want what's best for my son, why can't you two understand that?" Mr. Harrison responded.

"Staying here in Seattle, with his friends and the girl he's in love with, that's what's best for him! And come on, Mr. Harrison! If you do this, if you rip away from everything he cares about and ruin his SENIOR YEAR of high school, what is that going to do to your relationship with him? It might be bad now, but it can better! But if you do this, if you send him away, forget it! The damage will be irreparable. Think about it! Don't you want him to be happy?"

"Well, yes, but...I want him to stop getting in trouble, too! And start taking his future seriously! He's fighting me on everything, and I know where he's getting these ideas from...you two, and Carly too!"

I struggled to keep my anger in check. "Look, Carly's a good girl. She just got caught up in our drama. And Brad's good too! He's been a really good friend to us both. He's a good kid, Mr. Harrison, but he's right on the edge! And if you send him away now, you're going to lose who he is right now. And trust me, you DON'T want to do that."

Mr. Harrison was silent, deep in thought, and making me nervous.

"If he gets in one more fight on school grounds, he's gone," he finally said.

"Seriously? You're gonna let him stay?" Wow, my powers of persuasion were better than I thought!

"I'll give him one more chance, but if he throws it away, it's out of my hands," he responded.

"AAAH!" I screamed, throwing my arms around Mr. Harrison and hugging him tightly, catching him off-guard. He patted my back awkwardly, taking a step backwards.

"Okay, okay. That's...nice," he said.

"Sorry," I responded sheepishly. "We just really love Brad, a lot." I looked over at Freddie, and he nodded.

"Is she always like this?" Mr. Harrison asked Freddie, and he nodded.

"Always. She's very...passionate," he responded, and I just grinned at him.

"You should consider a career in law," Mr. Harrison commented. "If this had been a court room, you would have won your case. Well, you did win your case. Very nice. But just so you two know, this whole deal with that kid's parents isn't over! You need to find a lawyer, and pretty quickly."

"Oh, we're good," Freddie said, with a wave of his hand. "I've got an ace in the hole."

"Really?" Mr. Harrison responded. "And who's that?"

"Milton Benson. He's my uncle," Freddie replied.

"Wow," Mr. Harrison said with a nod. "I'd say you do."

"Okay, well, we're gonna go..." I said, and Freddie stood up. "Thanks so much for doing this, you have no idea how much this means to all of us, how much it's gonna mean to Carly and Brad too. They really, really care about each other."

"I know," Mr. Harrison responded.

"And if you can...not tell Brad we came here, that'd be cool too," I replied. "He doesn't like people meddling in his business."

"Oh, I know, trust me. And I won't. I don't want my son thinking I was convinced to make any life decisions based on the whims of two teenagers."

"Uh...thanks?" I responded, slightly offended. "Okay. Well...yeah. Freddie, let's go." We headed for the door, opening it and heading out.

"Bye, you two. Nice meeting you Sam, finally. And uh, Freddie?"

"Yes?" Freddie responded as we walked out the door..

"You've got your hands full with that one," Mr. Harrison said with a strange expression on his face before closing the door.

As soon as the door was shut I put my hands on my hips and glared at Freddie. "Why does everyone KEEP SAYING THAT?" I hollered. Freddie didn't respond, just shook his head and laughed.

~*Brad*~

I sighed as I slowly pushed the door to my apartment open. I hated my life! I absolutely hated it! This wasn't fair. I'd done what I thought was right, and here I was, getting punished for it.

"I don't think I've ever heard anyone open a door so sadly," a voice commented, and I looked up to see my parents sitting on the couch waiting for me.

I shrugged. "What do I have to be happy about?" I said to my mom pointedly. "You guys are ripping me away from everything I care about."

"You brought it on yourself, Bradley," my dad responded gruffly. "Now sit down, we need to talk."

"I don't have anything to say to either one of you," I replied, heading for my bedroom.

"Sit down, Bradley! Now!" my mother said sharply. I whirled around to look at her, surprised. My mom didn't usually yell, she was very laid back and preferred to let my dad handle all the disciplining in our family. Still stunned, I walked back over to them, sitting down on the armchair.

"We've been talking," my mom said, looking at my dad. "Brad, honey, I know you love your girlfriend, and your friends too, but you've changed, a lot."

I shrugged again. "People change. I've done some things I'm not proud of, but everyone makes mistakes."

"I feel like I'm about to make a big one," my dad commented, and I looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm going against my better judgment on this one. But your mother and I have decided to let you stay, and finish your senior year." I started to leap for joy, but my dad continued to talk. "On one condition."

"What's that?" I responded. If he tells me to stop seeing Carly, I just might slug him, I thought to myself.

"You don't fight me anymore on this whole military academy thing. If you go there, your future will be SET. Do you hear me? It's your choice, you can finish your senior year and then go to the academy, or you can fight me on it...and leave everything you care about behind, and go to Texas."

Ugh, really? So I wasn't really winning, I was just pushing my defeat off a few more months! This was total bullshit! I wanted to yell at them, I wanted to run into my room and slam the door or shove all my things into a backpack and just LEAVE. But I couldn't do that. I had to make a choice, even though they both sucked. My parents continued to stare at me, waiting for me to make a decision.

"Fine," I responded. "I'll go to the academy. But just let me LIVE MY LIFE until then! Please! This is the first time I've been happy in years, and you guys just keep messing that up!"

"Bradley, you messed this one up yourself. If you get into any more trouble at school, the deal's off. And your grades better stay where they are. Got it?"

I groaned. "Got it," I replied, standing up and walking to my room. I had another thought, and turned around to face them. "Thank you. For being reasonable for a change." I didn't wait for a response, I just went into my room and shut the door behind me, stumbling through the dark to my bed and trying not to wake Bryson. I collapsed onto my bed, before pulling my phone out of my pocket to text Carly.

'Love you babe.'

~*Carly*~

"I just can't believe they got suspended for a month!" I ranted at Spencer as he fussed around the kitchen, actually home for once, and by himself.

Ugh, what a lonely, miserable day I'd had at school. Of course, it was oddly peaceful, people didn't seem to be quite as interested in taking shots at me since Freddie, Brad, and Sam weren't there. Maybe because they knew I wouldn't fight back, but still. If peace came at the cost of my friends, I'd rather not have it at all.

"They beat the crap out of those kids, on school grounds, what did you think would happen?" Spencer replied. I shrugged, drumming on the counter with my nails. "Look, I need to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"What do you think of April?" he asked, staring at me.

"Uh...I mean...I don't know, Spence. I don't know her that well. But she seems nice enough, and like she really cares about you. Like...loves you."

"You really think so?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" I replied.

"It's important to me that you like her, Carly...I mean...I love her. A lot. And..."

"Spencer..." I interrupted him. "Are you asking me this because you're thinking about taking it to the next level with her?"

"I'm considering it," he responded. "Like seriously considering it."

"Like...her moving in?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"No, Carly. Look, I'm going to be thirty next month! And...I love her, a lot. And I'm not getting any younger, so..."

"Oh, my god!" I exclaimed. "You're going to propose, aren't you?"

"I don't know yet!" he replied. "But I'm thinking about it, a lot. I love her. And...yeah. I think it could work..."

"Well...so...would you guys live here, together? And what would happen with me?"

"No, we wouldn't live here. She's got a nice house. A really BIG, nice house. That she lives by herself in. And you're going to be going to college soon, so..." he trailed off, shrugging.

"Wow." That's all I could say. The idea of Spencer getting married was just...wow. Everything around me was changing SO fast. First my two best friends marrying each other, then I fell in love, then Spencer fell in love, and now Spencer was talking about getting MARRIED. Oh my gosh!

But I didn't like the idea of giving up this apartment, either! I loved this place, and I loved my room. I didn't want to give it up. But what was more important, my room, or my brother's happiness?

"I'm tired of being alone, Carly," Spencer said with a serious look in his eye. "I put up with it for a long time, but I don't want to anymore."

I nodded. I knew how that felt. I reached across the table, taking Spencer's hand in mine.

"I want you to be happy, Spencer. I love you. You've done so much for me, there's no way I could ever repay you. You wanna marry April, do it."

"She's gotta say yes first," he reminded me, and I just shrugged, giving him a smile.

"She will. Don't worry."


	60. Chapter 60: Don't Bother Me

**A/N: Finally got around to updating, hopefully I can get the next chapter up by tonight. It's a little short, but eh...**

**Chapter Sixty:**  
><strong>Don't Bother Me<strong>

~*Sam*~

"Does the word overkill mean anything to you?" I asked Freddie as we both sat on the sofa, staring at the massive pile of informational pamphlets in front of us.

"What? I'm just trying to make sure we're well informed!" Freddie replied.

I rolled my eyes. "We can't possibly go through all of these, it'd be time for you to apply for grad school by the time we finished."

Freddie rolled his eyes right back at me. "I see we're back to being dramatic," he responded, picking up a pamphlet and opening it. "Okay, what about this one?"

I snatched the brochure out of his hands, looking over it carefully. "Uh...no."

"Why not?"

"I don't like the logo. It has stripes."

"What does the logo have to do with anything, baby?" Freddie replied, irritated.

"Obviously my tastes and the school's tastes aren't going to mesh!" I replied, picking up another pamphlet. "How about this one?"

"Nope," Freddie replied.

"Why?" I asked.

"Look. I need AP Calculus, they don't have it. Next."

Ugh, this was going to take forever! Every school was missing something that either one of us or the other required, or the price was just too high. I was starting to think this wasn't going to work out.

Freddie and I were interrupted suddenly by a knock at the door, and Freddie started to get up, but I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down. "I'll get it," I told him. "I've gotten enough paper cuts for one morning." Freddie shrugged, picking up another brochure.

I walked over to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open, to reveal Brad. "Hey Brad, what's – eeee!" I squealed in alarm as he picked me up suddenly, pulling me into a fierce bear hug and spinning me around. Freddie looked over his shoulder in confusion.

"Dude, you've got my wife in the air...should I be concerned?"

"Nope!" Brad said happily.

"Okay," Freddie responded, going back to his brochures.

"Freddie!" I cried as Brad sat me down.

"What? He said he doesn't like blondes, it's fine!" Wow, how things had changed!

"Guess what!" Brad yelled, bouncing up and down. "I'm staying!"

"Alright!" I yelled, hugging him. "Your dad changed his mind?"

"Yeah! And I have no frickin' clue why, but this is awesome!" Brad hollered. "I don't have to leave Carly!"

"Aww! Braddy-waddy's in wuv!" I cooed, pinching his cheeks, laughing when he smacked my hands away.

"Stop!" Brad said with a laugh, pushing me slightly. "What are you guys doing? What is all that stuff?"

"Brochures," I responded, flopping back down next to Freddie and laying back, throwing my legs over his lap and knocking the pamphlets down in the process. He looked at me, annoyed, and I just brushed it off. "My feet hurt."

He tried to glare at me, but it quickly evaporated into a smirk, before he surrendered and began rubbing my feet. I groaned, laying my head back.

"Feel good?" he asked, and I nodded.

"I knew I married you for a reason," I replied with a grin.

"So what's with all the dead trees?" Brad asked, sitting on one of the bar stools.

"Trying to find an online school," Freddie responded. "The sooner we get started, the better."

"Yeah, Freddie's in a hurry to finish."

"You should be too," he replied, and I shrugged.

"Why do we have to rush?"

"So we can be done with it already!" he replied. "What's it gonna take to get your ass into gear, baby?"

"Please be careful how you answer that, mixed company," Brad said. I balled up one of the unwanted brochures and chucked it at his head, before turning to Freddie.

"Well, we could make things more interesting," I offered.

"Ooh, a bet?" Freddie asked, and I nodded. "Hmmm, what are the terms?"

"Hmm, let's see." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Whoever finishes up first..."

"With decent grades!" Freddie put in.

"With decent grades," I repeated. "Whoever finishes first...the other one has to do whatever they say, for an entire month."

"An entire month?" Freddie asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "I don't know about that."

"But baby, you know I love bets," I said slowly, my foot rubbing across his lap, trying to bait him.

"And, turning around now," Brad said, spinning around to turn his back to us. I ignored him, focusing my attention on Freddie, who was staring at me intently.

"And you do want me to finish high school, don't you?" I continued rubbing my foot over his lap, grinning when I made contact with what I was searching for.

"Yeah, but...a month?" Freddie asked, trying to resist, but I could tell his resolve was caving. I sat up suddenly, pulling my legs off his lap and getting on my knees, wrapping my arms around his neck and nibbling on his ear a bit. He sighed a little bit, and I knew I almost had him.

"Just think," I said into his ear huskily, biting at it. "If you win, and let's face it, you're a genius, so you probably will...an entire month...where I have to do everything you say."

"Everything?"

"Everything, and anything you say. Without question. Whatever you want, whenever you want. For an entire..." I paused to let my hand slide under his shirt, over his chest, before kissing his neck and then finally sinking my teeth in, sealing the deal. "Month."

Freddie turned and looked at me with that dark, turned on look in his eye. "Okay, it's on. Deal."

"Deal," I replied, extending my hand. We shook hands, and then I kissed him, before pulling away, laying back down. "Okay, Brad, we're done."

"Ugh, finally!" Brad said, turning around. "So what are you guys..." he trailed off, making a face. "Dude!" he yelled at Freddie.

"What?" we both asked.

"I didn't realize we were going camping!" Brad said, looking at Freddie pointedly. Freddie looked down and rolled his eyes, grabbing my legs and throwing them over his lap. I leaned forward and poked him.

"If you're gonna use me for camouflage, then get back to work, nub," I responded, gesturing to my feet. He rolled his eyes and went back to massaging me.

~*Carly*~

You'd think I was turning into Sam the way I hated school so much, but things just weren't the same without Brad and Sam and Freddie at school with me. I was so relieved to get home, and now we were just hanging out in the apartment like normal. I was laying on the couch with Brad, happy to be away from school drama. Freddie was messing around with something on his laptop, and as usual, Sam was in my refrigerator looking for food.

"Hey, Carly?" she asked.

"Huh?" I responded, not really paying attention. I was a little distracted with how hot Brad looked today, and couldn't stop myself from playing with his hair and letting my other hand trail back and forth over his arms. I couldn't stop touching him. Oh god, I WAS turning into Sam!

"Can sugar be absorbed through skin?" Sam asked.

"Uh...no. I don't think so. Why?" I replied, not bothering to look up.

"No reason," Sam said quickly. "Hey Freddie?"

"Yeah?" Freddie asked absentmindedly, busily typing away.

"Can you come here?"

"Sure." Freddie stood up and walked over to where she was standing. I still wasn't paying attention, but it was Brad's fault for wearing a tank top after I'd been all day without seeing him. I wanted to jump on him then and there! The next thing I heard though was the sound of a whipped cream can, and then a whole bunch of giggling.

"Sam!" I stood up finally. "That's not what whipped cream is for!"

"It is now," Sam replied in a sing-song voice.

"Can I have that when you're done?" Brad called over to her. I froze, looking back at Brad, then at Sam, who was looking at me triumphantly.

"So what is whipped cream for again?" she asked with a grin.

"Sam, get this off me, please. I'm gonna get all sticky!" Freddie complained. I had to laugh, he had it on the side of his neck and he had his head over to the side with a strange expression on his face.

"That's okay, I can help you wash it off," she teased. "Now come here." She grabbed him by his belt and yanked him to her, before hopping on the counter, her legs going around his waist. I rolled my eyes before walking over to the couch and flopping back down next to Brad.

"Missed you today," he commented, turning to look at me.

"Aw...I missed you too," I replied with a smile.

"Good," he said, leaning over to kiss me.

"God, I can't wait until you guys' suspension is over so I'm not by myself there!" I exclaimed. Freddie and Sam pulled away from each other and looked at me.

"Uh, Carly...Sam and I aren't going back," Freddie said, and my eyes widened.

"You guys are dropping out?" I yelled.

"No!" Sam replied. "We're not dropping out, we're switching to one of those online high schools."

"What?" I exclaimed. "But you guys can't leave me and Brad to deal with all this crap ourselves!"

"Carly, I think a lot of it's going to die down when we're not there, okay?" Freddie replied. "I mean, they mostly take shots at us anyway!"

I rolled my eyes, slumping back down on the couch. "Fine, whatever."

"You still got me, babe," Brad said, putting his arm around me and kissing me on the side of the head. I sighed, looking up at him. He was just so sweet. I loved him so much.

"Hey, guys?" I looked at Sam and Freddie.

"Yeah?"

"Can you like...leave?" I asked. Freddie and Sam gaped at me.

"Are you mad?" Sam asked.

"No, not mad. Not even thinking about you guys right now!" I looked at Sam pointedly, and her eyes widened.

"Oh! Okay! Come on, baby, let go get all that sticky stuff washed off you," she said, hopping off the counter and dragging Freddie towards the door. "Have fun you two! Oh, wait!" She ran back into the kitchen, grabbing the can of whipped cream off the counter and just grinned mischievously.

I didn't respond, just sat there and waited for the door to shut before grabbing Brad by the back of the head and kissing him fiercely. His eyebrows went up in surprise, and I pulled away, giving him a sexy smile.

"Where did that come from?" he asked, staring at me.

"I dunno," I replied with a shrug. "I just felt like it." Brad just continued to stare at me, and he had this look in his eye that I couldn't really read, but I knew it was a good look. "You know, Spencer won't be back from the museum with April for a few more hours."

"Yeah..."

"So..." I trailed off, running my hands lightly up his arms. "Do you wanna go upstairs and...hang out?"

He didn't respond, just stood up, grabbing my arms and pulling me up, before throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me up the stairs.

Yeah, Sam and Freddie were definitely starting to rub off on us.

~*Freddie*~

"This movie's stupid," Sam stated from her spot on the couch. I looked over, glaring at her.

"It's not stupid, Sam! The special effects are really, really good, the cinematography is amazing, and..OW!" I rubbed my earlobe where she had flicked it. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Sam scooted a little closer to me, before leaning forward. "So I could make it feel better," she replied with a sexy smile before beginning to kiss and nibble at the spot she'd just flicked. I groaned, one arm going around her waist.

"You could have just done it without flicking me," I commented as she moved her mouth down to my neck.

"Yeah but then it's not as much fun," she responded before biting me. I hissed in pain, then sighed as I felt her tongue slide over the spot she'd just bitten. "See?"

"I'm starting to," I growled, before pushing her down onto the couch and coming over her, kissing her as I tangled my hands through her hair. She wrapped a leg around my waist and leaned her head back, moaning a bit as I started kissing, nibbling, and licking over her neck, grinding against her.

"This needs to go," she whispered as I felt her hands go for my shirt. I pulled away so she could pull it over my head, throwing it somewhere behind us. I went back to kissing her, and we kept making out like that for awhile.

BANG!

"What was that?" Sam asked, pulling away and looking at me. "It sounded like it came from across the hall."

"No idea," I replied, not too concerned. "Less talking, more kissing."

She shrugged, grabbing me by the back of the head and jerking my head down to hers. We kept kissing, and I moved my hands down to her hips to grind her against me. She moaned and began kissing my neck and shoulders.

BANG!

"Okay, that's it!" she said, pushing on me until I sat up. "Something's go on at Carly's."

"Yeah, at CARLY'S," I replied, annoyed. "I'm trying to get something going on over here."

"Freddie, what if someone's breaking in?"

"Sam, not every loud noise is somebody breaking in, baby," I replied, but she ignored me, sliding her legs out from under me and jumping off the couch. "And you're not under me anymore...why are you not under me? Get your ass back on this couch!"

"Freddie!" she yelled, throwing my shirt at me. "Come on, let's just go find out what the commotion is!"

"No!" I yelled. "Not an hour ago you treated me like a human ice cream cone and licked whipped cream off me, I'm fired up, and I'm not backing down, now come here!"

"Get your ass off that couch, right now," she growled. "Or I'll never lick any part of you again! Do you hear me? ANY part!"

"Not even -"

"No, not even that! Get up!"

I glared at her, before slowly rising to my feet. "Fine."

"Now put your shirt on, cover up the guns, baby," she responded. I grunted, throwing my shirt back on.

"This is bullshit," I said. "The one time I'm hornier than you are and you can't just bite the bullet?"

"Don't make me bite something else!" she replied, then glared at me. "Wipe that smile off your face, and hurry up."

I sighed, rolling my eyes, then looking towards the door as I heard a bunch of banging and crashing noises coming from across the hall. Okay, maybe it was serious.

"Let's go!" Sam yelled, grabbing my arm. She flung the door open and we both headed across the hall.

"SPENCER!" I heard Carly shriek. Oh god, this did sound serious. I pulled Sam aside to open the door, if something was going on I didn't want her to get hurt. We rushed in, and our jaws dropped.

"Spencer leave him alone!" Carly shrieked. She was trying to leap onto Spencer's back, and she was wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and her bra. Spencer was moving a little too fast for her though, and she could merely hold onto his waist, trying to pull him back.

The situation got weirder when I noticed Brad was behind the counter, shirtless, and when he stepped to the side I noticed he wasn't just shirtless, he was only in his boxers.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled, though I had a pretty good idea.

"Spencer's trying to kill Brad!" Carly yelled. "Freddie help me!"

Sam and I looked at each other in shock. What the hell happened? I'd thought Spencer had gotten over the idea of Carly and Brad being intimate with each other, but obviously not.

"I am gonna kill him! You bastard!" Spencer yelled, squirming free of Carly's grasp and zooming towards Brad.

"Aah!" Carly screamed as Spencer finally caught up with Brad, knocking him to the ground.

"Okay, okay!" I yelled, heading for them and yanking Spencer off Brad. "What the hell? Spencer calm down!"

"Get that crazy son of a bitch away from me!" Brad yelled, scrambling to his feet. "I didn't do anything wrong! She's my girlfriend!"

"I'm not calming down!" he yelled, trying to break free. "I caught them!"

"Caught them doing what?" Sam asked.

"What do you think, Sam?" Carly yelled, her hands covering her face. "Oh my god, I cannot believe this is happening!"

"He deflowered my baby sister! You are dead, Brad!" Spencer yelled. "I'm gonna rip you apart!"

"Okay!" Sam yelled, getting between me, Spencer, and Brad. "Freddie, put him in a headlock or something! Spencer! You cannot kill Brad!"

"I am not putting him in a headlock!" I yelled at her.

"Raaaahhh!" Spencer yelled, trying to break free.

"Calm the hell down!" I yelled. "Brad, Carly, go put some clothes on!"

"You don't have to yell at me!" Carly snapped, and I glared at her.

"Yeah, I do! You cut into me and Sam's...private time!"

"This is your fault! You two are a bad example!" Spencer roared.

"Calm down, Spencer! She's seventeen years old!" Sam yelled. "Guys, go put clothes on, now!"

Carly and Brad ran upstairs, and I shoved Spencer onto the couch. "Sit down, and shut up!" I said.

~*Brad*~

"I cannot believe this!" Carly exclaimed as we got dressed. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, babe...at least he didn't catch us...you know...in the middle of it." I responded, leaning over to kiss her.

"But it's just as bad!" Carly said. "I can't believe he acted like this!" She sat down on the bed, pulling her shirt over her head.

"So, other than that..."

Carly looked up and gave me a small smile. "It was amazing. You were amazing."

"You too, babe." I replied.

We were silent for a moment, and Carly groaned again. "I don't wanna deal with this."

"Me neither," I replied. "Spencer really wants to kill me."

She looked at me, and I could tell the wheels were turning. "Elevator?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here," I replied, grabbing my jacket as well as hers before we headed for the door.


	61. Chapter 61: Good Night

**A/N: So, for those of you wondering why I decided not to go into descriptive detail of Carly's first time...it made me feel dirty, okay? Something about Carly losing her virginity just didn't sit well with me. But don't worry, I've made up for it! Working on the next chapter right now, may be up tonight if I finish it.**

**Chapter Sixty One:  
>Good Night<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"They're not upstairs. In Carly's room, or the studio," Sam called as she walked back downstairs in the living room.

"They must have taken the elevator and bounced," I commented, before glaring at Spencer. "Great job, Spence! You chased them off!"

Spencer didn't respond, he'd been sitting there with his arms crossed over his chest for twenty minutes straight, just staring at the floor.

"Is he still catatonic?" Sam asked, flopping down on the other side of the couch.

"Yeah...Spencer you were WAY out of line!" I yelled. "What is your problem? Carly's gonna be eighteen in six months! You can't do that to her!"

"Yeah, they're in love!" Sam added. "I bet you do the same thing to April that Brad was doing to Carly!"

"Aaah!" Spencer yelled, covering his ears. "Shut up, I don't wanna hear it!" Sam grinned at me.

"That means he does REALLY dirty things to April."

"Sam!" I scolded her. "You're not helping anything!" She shrugged, and I looked back at Spencer.

"Okay, think about this, Spence. This is really gonna end up causing a lot of trouble between you and Carly, you know that, right?"

"I don't care! She's my sister!"

"Yeah, and your sister's been with Brad for almost five months! She loves him, he loves her...it's what people do when they're in love, you know that!" I snapped. "You wanna lose Carly over this? Because I guarantee you will! They've already fled the premises, you keep acting the way you're acting, she might just bounce out for good!"

Spencer just shrugged, and I rolled my eyes.

"Sam?" I said, not looking away from Spencer. "Grab his phone."

"Don't touch my phone, Sam!" Spencer yelled as it dawned on him what we were up to. It didn't take Sam very long to understand what I was getting at, and she quickly rushed over to the counter and grabbed his phone.

"I'm calling April!" she hollered. "You're in big trouble now!"

Spencer jumped up to grab the phone away from her, but I just tackled him to the ground, putting all my weight on him, before looking up at Sam. "Go, Sam! I've got him! Get her over here now!"

"NO!"

"Somebody's in trouble!" Sam yelled, dancing back and forth a bit.

"Sam, I can't hold him forever!" I yelled, struggling to keep him on the ground. "Call her now!"

Sam ran upstairs and a second later I heard a door slam. She'd probably locked herself in either Carly's room or the studio.

"No! April's gonna kill me!"

"That's the point!" I yelled, before standing up. "You can't do what you just did! It's not cool, man!"

Sam came back downstairs a few moments later. "She's on her way," she said, tossing the phone at Spencer before looking at me. "Okay, do we go look for them, or stay and watch the drama that's about to unfold?"

"Uh...I don't know," I responded. "Don't you think we've gotten involved enough for one day?"

"But...Freddie," she said, glaring at me.

"Nope, Sam! Carly and Brad's relationship, Carly and Brad's problems!" I responded, standing up and grabbing her arm. "Now let's go!"

"But he'll just run off!" she whined as I dragged her towards the door.

"She'll track his ass down eventually! Come on baby..." I said, opening the door and shoving her out of it, before going to our front door and yanking her inside, shoving her against the door.

"You just wanted to get me away from all of it so we could have sex," she declared, glaring at me. I nodded.

"Damn straight I did," I replied, grinding into her, holding her hips steady and kissing her neck. She growled at me.

"Damn it, Freddie...you...and...and Spencer, he..." she stuttered as I kissed lower and lower until my mouth made contact with her collarbone. She sighed, sagging against the door in defeat. "Ahhh...god...I hate that you do this to me."

"You love it," I mumbled against her skin, dragging my tongue back up her neck before nibbling on her ear. She whimpered a bit, grinding into me, and I smiled triumphantly as her arms went around my neck. She couldn't resist me, no matter how hard she tried. I grabbed her leg, pulling it against me as I moved against her, untucking her shirt with my free hand. Before we could move any further, I heard the door unlock and the door open slightly, before slamming shut, unable to be opened with our weight pressed against it.

"Freddie!" I heard my mom call on the other side of the door.

Damn it! I couldn't catch a break today! I pulled Sam off the door before yanking it open and glaring at my mom.

"Hi."

"Hey honey, how are you guys doing tonight?" she asked obliviously.

"Been better," I responded. I paused for a second, looking at Sam. "Well...I...we're busy." I turned towards our bedroom, ushering Sam towards the door.

"Wait!" my mom said. "Freddie, I need to talk to you about something."

"Can't it wait?" I practically growled.

"No! It's important!" my mom said. "Now sit down so I can talk to you!"

I looked at Sam, and she shrugged. No! I wasn't going to sit down, I'd been after Sam all day and I was DONE with interruptions. I grabbed Sam's hand and pulled her down the hallway.

"Freddie! Come back here!" my mom hollered.

"Can't hear you over the tv, sorry mom!" I said over my shoulder.

"The tv's not on!"

"What?" I yelled. "Can't hear you, sorry!"

"Fredward!"

"La-la-la-la can't hear you!" I yelled as I opened the bedroom door and shoved Sam inside.

"You can't stay in there all night!" my mom yelled.

"Watch me!" I responded, slamming the door shut. I turned to look at Sam, who had her arms crossed over her chest and was glaring at me.

"Freddie!" she scolded me. "What was that?"

I just glared at her. "Sam. This entire day the only thing I've wanted was to be inside you, and I keep getting interrupted. I'm done. Now lay down on that bed."

"No!" she replied. "You can wait a little bit longer! You have absolutely no control whatso-" she was cut off as I grabbed her by the back of her head, kissing her passionately.

"Shut up," I growled against her mouth, my hands going to the hem of her shirt and yanking it over her head. "I can't take it anymore." I kissed her again, and she mumbled against my mouth, a string of unintelligible curse words coming out, and I just kissed her more intensely, my tongue sliding over hers as I unbuttoned her jeans over her hips and yanked them down, dropping to my knees and pulling them off the rest of the way. She started yelling at me again, but I shut her up quickly by kissing and nibbling on her thighs, making her words stop in their tracks.

"God, that feels good," she said breathlessly. I stood back up, ripping my shirt over my head and then unhooking her bra, before backing us up until we fell onto the bed. I wasted no time in licking and sucking at her sweet breasts, and she moaned, arching into me.

I was so sexually frustrated I just wanted to get it over with, to thrust into her and just get what I wanted, but I managed to calm myself enough to stretch it out, kissing down her body until I hit her boyshorts. I gripped them with my teeth, pulling them down over her legs before standing up and yanking my jeans and boxers off.

"God, you're really fired up today, aren't you?" she gasped as I laid on her, kissing and sucking on her neck.

"You have no idea," I grunted, trailing my hands over her body.

"I think I have a pretty good idea...AAH!" she cried out suddenly as I slid a finger into her, moving in and out slowly. I wanted her just as turned on as I was, ready to attack me the same way I'd attacked her. I bent my head back down to her breasts as I moved my finger in and out of her slowly, adding another and enjoying the way I was making her moan.

"God, baby...ahhh..." she moaned. "I love how good you are with your hands."

"What about my mouth?" I responded, before kissing down her body and licking across her sensitive womanhood. She gasped, her hips jerking and hands going into my hair, holding my head still. I kept licking at her, driving her right to the edge before pulling away. She sat up a bit, glaring at me.

"Freddie!" she exclaimed. "What the hell?"

"Did I get you riled up?" I asked, staring at her.

"You know you did!"

"Then do something about it," I responded with a raise of my eyebrows, smirking when she sat all the way up and shoved me onto my back before straddling me. God, I loved riling that girl up. It always worked in my favor when I did. I groaned suddenly when I felt her lower herself onto me, feeling her hot, tight walls around me.

"Ahh.." she moaned, moving her hips in a slow circle. I groaned, lifting my hips a bit to move deeper inside her. I let her ride me like that for a few minutes, until flipping her onto her back and grabbing her leg.

"What are you doing?" she asked as I moved her leg up higher and higher.

"Seeing how flexible you are," I responded as I put her leg on my shoulder, then suddenly thrust deep into her. She cried out and sunk her teeth into my shoulder. "How's that feel?"

"Oh god, it feels amazing..." she moaned. "Keep going."

"K," I responded, moving in and out of her faster, testing to see how deep she could take it. She didn't disappoint, she took it pretty deep, and she dug her nails into my back.

"Ah, Freddie!" she cried. "Oh my god! That's so fucking good...ah...you're so deep..."

"Want me to go more?" I asked, kissing her neck.

"Yes!" she moaned. "More!"

I slammed into her harder, and I thought I was going to have to cover her mouth, the way she moaned so loud. I guess she liked it. She moved against me urgently, and I picked up my pace a little more, trying to drive her crazy.

"Oh god, don't stop!" she moaned. "Baby! Oh...don't stop...don't stop...don't...stop...ohhh...AAAH!" she cried out as I felt her walls shudder around me, her eyes rolling back. Jackpot!

"Mmm, I think my baby liked that, huh?" I murmured in her ear before biting at it a bit. "Ready for another?"

"Oh god...yes...god this feels so good." She wrapped her other leg around my waist, pulling me in even deeper. Shit. This felt good, too good. I buried my face in her shoulder as I continued to move in and out of her.

"Damn, baby..." I grunted. "Your body feels so good...ugh...damn..." It was getting harder and harder to control myself, but I wasn't ready to stop. Sam was getting pretty close though, I could feel it. I reached between us to rub at her, and she jerked a little, her nails digging into me even more.

"Aaah...baby...oh god! I'm gonna...aaah! Fuck!" she cried out, quaking against me. Damn, I couldn't hold out anymore. I gave up, growling as I exploded inside her.

"Damn, baby..." I groaned. "Damn..."

"Oh god, that was good..." she moaned.

I didn't pull away right away, I was thinking about how riled up I'd been all day, and then, realizing I was still riled up, began moving against her again. She moaned in surprise.

"Freddie!" she gasped. "But, didn't you..."

"Yep," I responded, kissing on her neck.

"But..."

"You gonna stop me?" I asked, lifting my head to look at her. "Because I'm not ready to stop yet."

She could only moan as I continued to move in and out of her.

~*Carly*~

I was a bad, bad girl, I thought to myself as I felt Brad's lips on my neck.

Good girls don't have sex in the middle of the afternoon, and they don't run away after their older brothers catch them laying in their bed naked with their boyfriends.

Good girls don't run off with their boyfriends to drive off to the lake instead of dealing with their crazy older brothers.

And good girls don't take all their clothes off in the backseat of a vintage Mustang and then start making out with their naked boyfriends.

Yep, I was a bad bad girl. And man did I like it.

"Should we be doing this?" I asked breathlessly as I felt Brad kiss lower and lower.

"We already did," he murmured against my skin. "Remember?"

Oh, I remembered. I remembered well. I remembered making out with Brad in my bed, then taking off my shirt, and then my bra. The rest was just a blur. Well, except the first time I'd seen Brad naked. I'd NEVER forget that. His body was ridiculously gorgeous. I just wanted my mouth all over him...and then it was. And then his mouth was all over mine. And then he was laying over me, kissing me softly, his hands all over me.

It'd hurt a lot more than I expected, and Brad felt so bad that he'd wanted to stop, but I wouldn't let him. I figured with the way my two best friends were always all over each other, the pain didn't last for long, and I was right. After the initial bit of pain, it'd felt more amazing than anything on earth. And all I could think the entire time was wow, Brad is actually inside me. I'd never felt closer to him than I had at that moment.

And now, here we were in his backseat, parked by the lake, in the dark, about to do it again.

"You have another condom?" I asked breathlessly as I felt his mouth cover my breast. Oh god, that boy and his tongue. It should be illegal to feel this good. How did anybody ever get anything done? I'd be perfectly content to spend every moment of the rest of my life like this!

"Yeah, babe. Don't worry," he responded, coming back up to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, gasping a bit as I felt him brush against the most sensitive part of my body. God this felt so good. I didn't ever want to stop.

He sat up suddenly to put the condom on, before laying back down between my legs. "It shouldn't hurt this time, okay?" he whispered, kissing my neck. I nodded, but inside I was thinking, you mean it gets better?

I felt him push a little, and then suddenly he was inside me. I threw my head back and groaned. God, he was right, this time it didn't hurt. At all. It felt incredible. I whimpered a little as he moved in and out of me slowly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, panting a little. I nodded.

"Yeah...oh god this feels good...don't stop, okay?"

"I won't," he responded, kissing me again. "Just tell me if I'm hurting you."

"You're not hurting me," I gasped as he pulled out and then moved back in. "Brad! Oh!"

Oh god, this was amazing, even in the backseat of his car. At least we didn't have to worry about Spencer busting in on us again. I'd wanted to kill him, but I couldn't, because he was too busy trying to kill Brad! Suddenly Brad lifted his hips a bit and I jerked against him. Oh god, what was THAT? It felt so good I thought I was going to jump out of my skin.

"Ah!" I cried out.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, looking at me with concern.

"No! God no! Stop asking, I'll tell you if I do. Do what you just did again, please!" I begged, wrapping a leg around him. He smiled, bending down to kiss me again, and then did that thing with his hips, over and over and over, until I was trembling, shaking, jerking, moaning, perspiring...oh god.

"Brad!" I cried out. "Oh god, I'm...aaah! Brad!" And there it was, the explosion that I'd felt just a few hours earlier. Oh god, this was incredible.

"Feel good?" he asked against my ear breathlessly. I nodded fervently.

"God, yes!" I moaned. "I want more..."

"I'll give you whatever you want, babe. I love you," he said, continuing to move against me.

"Oh, I love you too!" I cried out. "So much! Brad this feels so good!"

"You feel good too," he moaned. I could feel him tense up, and I pulled him tighter against me. "Carly," he moaned. "Uhhhh...I can't hold out...any longer...oh, god...Carly..."

"It's okay," I gasped. "I...oh god...BRAD!"

"CARLY!"

We both laid there for a moment, before Brad sat up finally, disposing over the protection in a trashbag he kept in his car for garbage and stuff. He handed me my clothes before pulling his on, stopping to kiss me.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I replied. I finished putting my clothes back on, and Brad pulled me against him, kissing me on top of my head.

"You ready to go back yet?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"No," I replied. "Let's just stay here a little bit longer."

"Okay," he responded. I laid my head on his chest, taking his hand in mine, running my other hand over his arm.

I didn't care what Spencer said, or did. I wasn't a baby anymore, I had a guy I loved, and he was just going to have to deal with it.

~*Brad*~

I shifted in my seat a little bit, groaning, as my eyes opened. I looked down to see Carly with her head on my shoulder, and smiled a bit. God I loved that girl. Even though her brother had tried to kill me, I wouldn't have changed anything about today. It was absolutely perfect.

I frowned suddenly as I realized it was dawn. Shit, we'd fallen asleep and been out here all night! Carly was going to be late for school, and Spencer was going to kill her. My hands went to her shoulders, shaking her.

"Babe, wake up!" I said. "Come on, we gotta go!"

She moaned groggily, before sitting up. "What time is it?" I looked at my watch, my eyes widening.

"It's 5:30."

Her head shot up, eyes popping open. Yep, she was awake now.

"Oh god!" she cried, scrambling into the front seat. "I'm dead!"

"No, it's okay, I'll take the heat."

"Well...it was my idea!" she cried, her head going into her hands. "Oh god. Oh god."

I climbed into the front seat, starting the car and throwing it into reverse before pulling out of the lot, my hand going to her knee.

"It's okay," I said. "Don't worry."

"Don't worry? Are you serious? Spencer's going to murder me! And then you! Oh god, this is so bad!" she moaned.

"Just relax, I'll get us back as quick as I can."

I sped the entire way there, and we quickly ran through the lobby, going into the elevator. Carly took a deep breath, bouncing nervously, and I leaned down and kissed her, trying to calm her down.

"Maybe you should...you know...not go in with me," she said, and I shook my head.

"I'm not going to let you take the heat by yourself," I replied. "Come on," I said as the elevator arrived at her floor. We walked down the hallway and she stuck her key in the door, shaking a bit, before pushing the door open slowly. It hadn't even been opened all the way, when suddenly...

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Oh look, Spencer's awake.

"It wasn't my fault, we fell asleep!" Carly cried defensively.

"Bullshit!" Spencer yelled. "You did this on purpose, you -"

"Spencer." Spencer froze as April walked out of his bedroom, hands on her hips.

"But...she..."

"Nope! I don't wanna hear it. Like you never stayed out all night when you were her age?" April shot back.

"But..."

"No buts!" April yelled. "Now get back in here!" She turned to Carly. "Okay, don't stay out like that all night, you'll give him a heart attack. Brad, maybe go home?"

I shrugged. "Okay." I was in no mood to argue, and still tired. I turned to Carly. "I love you," I said, kissing her. "You want me to take you to school?"

"Sure," she replied, hugging me.

"Okay, I'll be back in two hours, alright?"

"Yeah. See you in a little while." She kissed me again, and we pulled apart, looking at April.

"Thanks," Carly said awkwardly, and April just gave her an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, thanks for not letting Spencer kill me," I commented.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Just next time lock the door, guys," she replied, heading back to the bedroom. "Good night!"

I kissed Carly one last time, before heading out the door, going back to my own apartment.


	62. Chapter 62: The Word

**A/N: Alright, last chapter of the night, I'm taking my insomniatic ass to bed now. Kind of an intense lemon between Sam and Freddie...or more like...a ¾ lemon...sometimes they push each other a little too hard.**

**Chapter Sixty Two:  
><strong>**The Word**

~*Freddie*~

"Say it!"

"No!"

"Say it!"

"Owww!"

"Say it or I'm gonna squeeze harder!"

"Sam, don't kill him," I called, leaning against the countertop of Carly's apartment as I watched my wife hold Spencer in a headlock.

"I'll let him go as soon as he says it!" Sam called to me, not even breaking a sweat.

"How long am I supposed to let this go on?" April asked me, and I shrugged.

"Don't worry, Spencer has a low threshold for pain," Carly whispered to her, before straightening back up and glaring at Spencer. "You'd better say it, you're making her mad!"

"You won't like me when I'm mad!" Sam yelled, tightening her hold.

"I can't feel my ears!" Spencer cried. "Aaah!"

"I will rip them off of your head, now say it!"

"I'm sorry, Carly!" Spencer yelled, his arms flailing around.

"Sorry for?"

"I'm sorry for trying to beat up your boyfriend!"

"And?" Sam asked, continuing to keep him in the headlock.

"Putting my nose in your business!"

"And?"

"And...I don't know...you're cutting off circulation to my brain!" Spencer yelled. "Please let go of me!"

"And for ruining the wonderful afterglow of Carly and Brad's beautiful sappy experience!"

"Sam!" Carly scolded her, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Fine, repeat everything I said, sans-sappy!" she told Spencer.

"I'm sorry...for...afterglows...and beautifulness...I'm sorry just please let me go!"

"Nope! Now apologize to Brad!" Sam yelled. I groaned, standing up straight.

"Sam, that's enough, I think he got the point, so let him go," I called to her.

"Ugh, fine!" Sam released her hold, and Spencer collapsed on the ground.

"Why is she so strong?" Spencer whined from the floor piteously.

"Well that was fun," Brad said brightly. "So we're good?"

"Choose your words wisely, Spencer!" Sam reminded him.

"We're good. Can someone get me an icepack?"

Sam stepped over Spencer, walking over to me and grabbing me by the back of the neck and kissing me.

"Guys! Standing here!" Carly said, grabbing Sam's arm and shaking it.

"What? Violence makes me horny," Sam said with a shrug.

"Okay, well can we just put it off for a little while? We have to start the show soon," Carly responded. "Let's go upstairs."

"Be right there," I replied, pulling an insulin pen out of my pocket. I walked around to the other side of the counter, away from everyone, before lifting my shirt and sticking myself in the stomach and then throwing it in the trash.

"When's the last time you ate?" Sam asked me as she walked around the counter.

"Uh...a few hours ago," I responded.

"Will you eat something?" she asked. "I don't want you to get woozy."

"Yeah, sure." I wasn't really hungry, but she had a point.

"There's some ham in the fridge," Carly called, and I walked over to the fridge, opening it and pulling out the pack of ham.

"Wait!" Sam yelled, running over and smacking it out of my hand.

"Geez, Sam, you could wait your turn!" Brad commented. Sam bent down to grab the pack of ham, straightening up and glaring at Brad.

"It's not that," she replied, turning the pack over to look at the ingredients list. "Shay!"

"What? What'd I do?" Carly asked, a fearful look on her face.

"It's honey ham! It's got sugar in it! Why are you trying to kill Freddie?"

"I'm not! I thought it was regular ham!" Carly said defensively. "Spencer bought it!" She pointed at Spencer, and Sam glared at him. Spencer scrambled to his feet, headed for his bedroom as Sam took off running towards him. He managed to slam the door shut and lock it just in time, leaving Sam to bang on the door angrily.

"You can't hide forever!" she yelled.

"Baby, calm down!" I yelled across the apartment. "I'm fine!"

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll meet you guys upstairs," she said, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Brad asked.

"Across the hall to get food that's not going to kill my husband." She stopped in her tracks, turning to look at me. "Turkey?"

"Sure," I replied with a shrug. "Thanks."

"Love you," she called over her shoulder, shutting the door behind her.

"Aw, that's sweet!" April commented, and Carly, Brad, and myself all stared at her.

"Please don't say that in front of her," Carly said.

"What? Why not?"

"Because she'll start hitting things. You know, to balance it out," Brad responded. "Hey man, what'd you do to her to get to make food and stuff for you without eating it?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. But she even figured out how to make sugar-free mayo."

"From scratch?" Brad asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Mmhmm. I got a keeper there, huh?"

"I'll say," Brad replied. "But so do I," he said with a smile, pulling Carly to him and kissing her.

"Alright, let's go upstairs," Carly said as she pulled away. "We'll see you later, April."

"Yeah, I gotta go convince Spencer to unlock the door," she responded with a roll of her eyes.

I turned, and began following Brad and Carly up the stairs, the fact that Carly kept grabbing Brad's ass not lost on me. I couldn't help but laugh, guess Carly finally got what the big deal was. I was glad Sam had threatened Spencer into backing off, things between Sam and I were good, but the Brad and Carly drama tended to leak over onto us, I guess the same way our drama bled over into their lives. I knew the whole leaving regular school thing was going to be good for Sam and I, we literally had NO drama of our own to deal with, and man it was nice. It was like we'd finally reached that point of normalcy she and I had been craving for so long. We were happy, settled, ridiculously in love, yep, life was GOOD.

I started setting up the webcast, trying to ignore Brad and Carly kissing in the corner, but a little annoyed Brad wasn't carrying his weight.

Sam burst into the room a moment later, handing me a sandwich she'd just made before kissing me.

"Thanks, baby," I said.

"You're welcome," she responded with a sweet smile. "Brad! Carly!"

Brad and Carly didn't respond, they were lost in each other.

"Aw, look," Sam said, gesturing to them. "They grow up so fast."

I laughed, before putting my food down and grabbing her arm, yanking her towards me. "I wanna do grown up things," I growled, kissing her fiercely. She smiled, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me back. We stood there like that for awhile, just kissing passionately, until I heard a beeping noise. I jerked away from her, looking at my laptop.

"Oh, shit!" I yelled. "Break it up! Webshow!"

"Oh!" Carly yelled, pulling away from Brad. "Oh, god. Okay, Sam! Get over here!"

"Brad!" I yelled, grabbing his arm and jerking him out of frame. "Alright, in five, four, three, two..."

~*Carly*~

"And...we're clear!" Freddie yelled, and I breathed a sigh of relief, before glaring at him.

"What?"

"You let us go through the entire show with makeout hair! Sam and I both!"

Freddie shrugged. "Not my fault, we ALL lost track of time," he said pointedly.

He did have a point. Brad and I couldn't keep our hands off each other ever since we'd finally slept together, and I loved it. We hadn't gotten the chance to do it since last night in the Mustang, but as soon as April and Spencer cleared out of the apartment, it was ON.

"Well...we're just gonna...have to...oh alright, we're all just a bunch of horny teenagers, okay?" I snapped.

"Yeah, you got that right," Sam responded, hopping onto the desk. "Eat your food, baby. You need the energy."

Freddie grinned. "Guess we're not going out tonight?"

"Nope," she replied. "Unless you wanna try it on the fire escape."

"Sam!" Freddie said. "We can't do that!"

"Uh, dibs on the fire escape!" Brad called, and Freddie laughed.

"Yeah, have fun with that. It's freezing outside. Major shrinkage."

"Oh, good point," Brad responded. I looked over at Sam, and she gave me a Look, gesturing to the door with her head.

"Uh...we'll be right back!" I said as Sam hopped off the desk and we both headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Brad yelled at me.

"Comparing notes, be right back!" Sam called, before shutting the door. We heard yells of protest from the boys and laughed, heading to my bedroom.

"Okay, details!" Sam exclaimed, flopping on the bed. "How did it happen, how long did it last, positions, how many times did he make you go, size, come on I'm dying here!"

"Sam!" I exclaimed. "What do you want me to answer first?"

"Hmm...um...size. Definitely. Level with me, Brad's packing some serious heat, isn't he?"

"Um..." I trailed off, blushing a little bit. "Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, COME ON, Carls! I told you how big Freddie was!" she shouted, throwing a pillow at my head. I threw it back at her before sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Well, you know...not really. You just said it was big. But it's not like you've seen any other ones...and porn doesn't count either!"

"Okay, fine," Sam said, getting to her feet. "I refuse to let you sit there and question the awesomeness that is Freddie's package. Where's your ruler?"

"Uh, the drawer in the dressing table," I responded, not liking where this was headed. "Should we be talking about this?"

"Yes, we should! And that's just the beginning, Shay!" she said as she rifled through my draw, grinning victoriously when she found the ruler. "Okay!" She hopped back on the bed. "Right here," she said, pointing to a spot on the ruler.

"Bullshit," I responded, my eyes growing big.

"Nope. It's that big," she said. "I'm a very happy girl."

"But, Sam...you're so small..." I stated, and she rolled her eyes.

"Uh, our bodies are equipped to push a human being out of there!" Sam replied. "Okay, now show me."

"Um..." I took the ruler out of her hands and pointed to another spot on the ruler. "That's good, right?"

Sam nodded in appreciation. "I knew it! That's why he's so damn confident! But..." she leaned towards me, a grin on her face. "Freddie's is bigger! Neener neener neener!"

"Shut up!" I laughed, pushing her away. She shrugged.

"Oh well, what really matters is what he can do with it. And what he lets you do with it," she laughed, wiggling her eyebrows. "So? What else?"

"What else is there?"

"Carly!" she yelled, smacking my leg. "Quit being a prude!"

"I mean, I don't really remember, it all happened so fast..." I trailed off when I noticed the look of horror on Sam's face. "Not that part! The lead up! We were making out, and then shirts came off, then my bra, and then...Brad did something..."

"Did what?" Sam asked.

"He...well...he...I don't wanna talk about this, okay?" I cried.

"Oh my god, you're such a baby," Sam said, laying down. "Okay, fine, just give me a hint..."

"He's really good with his mouth," I commented. "And I still had my jeans on! After that it was...well...it was on."

Sam sat back up and grinned at me.

"What?" I asked, and she just continued to smile.

"Remember when the boys were talking about 'the thing' they read on the internet?"

"Yeah..." I trailed off.

"THAT'S the thing!" she said excitedly, grabbing my arm. "Isn't it great?"

"Oh god yes," I breathed. "So great."

"So anytime you want to know any tricks to use on Brad, just ask. Although I think our styles vary a bit. I'm guessing you don't want to bite him."

"No, not really. We like things...sweet."

"Well Freddie and I do too, sometimes. But we also like manhandling each other. It's fun," she said. We both stopped talking, lost in thoughts of our respective men.

Sam and I got off the bed at the exact same time, heading for the door.

"I gotta talk to Brad about something," I said as we raced up the stairs.

"Yeah, and I gotta bang Freddie real quick."

I rolled my eyes at Sam's bluntness, both of us running into the studio. Brad and Freddie were busy looking at something on the laptop, and while I went up behind Brad and just kissed him on the neck softly, Sam just reached around Freddie and grabbed him, grinning when he yelped in surprise.

"Sam! I told you no surprise groping around other people!" he yelled, turning around to look at her.

"Shut up," she replied, grabbing him by the back of the head and kissing him. "Come on, it's time to go." She grabbed his hand and began dragging him towards the door. He looked back at me in wonder.

"What'd you guys talk about?"

I shrugged. "Nothing. Oh, Sam!"

"Yes?" she said, turning to look at me.

"Be careful."

"Careful?" Brad and Freddie asked in confusion, but Sam just laughed.

"I'm telling you. It's HUGE!" she replied with a grin.

"Sam!" Freddie yelled in embarrassment. "Come on!"

~*Sam*~

"How many times have I told you, no discussing my anatomy with Carly?" Freddie griped as we walked down the stairs.

"Oh, like you and Brad have never had any conversations about me and Carly's anatomy?" I replied.

"Yeah, what to do with it, not what it looked like!" he replied as we walked across the hall.

"What? I was just bragging," I said. "By the way, you'll be happy to know yours is bigger than Brad's."

"I knew it!" he shouted triumphantly, before looking sheepish. "I mean...you girls shouldn't be talking about that."

I laughed, grabbing him by his belt loops and pulling him toward me. "I'm just bragging, baby. I'm a big fan." He smirked at me, his hands grabbing my hips.

"Are you now?" he replied.

"Mmhmm. Number one fan. We're talking stalker territory," I said, kissing his neck.

"Why don't you take me back to our room and show me exactly how big of a fan you are?" He growled before capturing my mouth with his.

I didn't respond, just looked around the apartment for a second.

"Sam?"

I was silent, just turned to lock the door and deadbolting it, before pulling the chain across the door. I pulled my shirt over my head and unhooked my bra, then kicked off my sneakers and pulled my jeans and underwear off.

"Clothes off, boy," I growled, jerking his shirt off over his head.

"What are you up to?" he asked as I unbuckled his belt and then yanked his pants down. I ignored him, walking over to the counter and hopping up onto it, laying back, legs open, staring at him. He didn't respond, his jaw just dropped.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked, my hand trailing down over my own body to give him a little show.

"Bad girl," he said, shaking his head as he advanced towards me.

"Get your ass over here and treat me like a bad girl," I challenged him. He grabbed my legs, pulling me to the edge of the counter, bending over to kiss me. I groaned as his mouth trailed lower, over my jaw, my throat, my shoulders, my collarbone. He stopped suddenly, looking up at me.

"You're in for a rough night, Sam," he warned me, and I grabbed him by his hair, jerking his head back to mine to kiss him passionately, biting his lip.

"Anything you got, I can handle," I replied.

"You sure about that?" he asked with that sexy smirk on his face. I nodded.

"Be bad to me," I whispered huskily in his ear. "I can take it."

"Oh, you're gonna take it," he growled, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back so he could lick over my throat. "Hard, and deep, and all night."

"Good," I managed to gasp out before his mouth covered my breast. I hissed as I felt his teeth scrape across my nipple, replacing it with his tongue quickly.

We hadn't been really rough with each other in awhile, and I was craving a little roughness from my sexy husband. I wanted hair-pulling, biting, scratching, being thrown against walls, I wanted it all. I wanted him to control me, to boss me around. I wanted him to tease me until I was ready to snap, and then work my body until I begged him to stop. I loved it. I moaned as his mouth went even lower, skating over my ribs and my stomach, biting at my hipbones. He licked over me once, before kissing and nibbling on my thighs, and I groaned in frustration.

"You gonna be an asshole to me tonight?" I asked as he continued teasing me.

"Like you don't love it," he responded, looking up at me. I rolled my eyes in an exaggerated way to make sure he saw it, and he moved his mouth up to bite my hipbone, growling at me. "Say you love it."

"Nope," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. He stood up straight and grabbed my wrists, pinning them above my head.

"What'd I tell you about covering those up?" he said in a firm voice, glaring at me. "Don't do it."

"And what do you think you're going to do about it?" I asked, trying to challenge him. I tried to move my arms away, but he wasn't having it.

"You know exactly what I can do about it," he replied. "You wanna push me?"

God, this was SO hot. And yes, I DID want to push him. I wanted to see exactly how rough he could get, and how rough he'd let me get away with being.

"You can't do shit," I growled. "Now get back down there and use your mouth for something important for a change."

He let go of my arms and stood up straight, glaring at me, totally silent for a few moments. "Alright," he said slowly. "That's it."

"What's it?" I replied, squealing in surprise as he suddenly lifted me off the counter and carried me into the bedroom, shutting the door and throwing me on the bed. I sat up to look at him, and he walked towards me slowly.

"You're screwed, Sam," he said with a serious expression on his face. I fake yawned, grinning at him. I saw a flicker of anger flash across his face. I was really baiting him tonight, and we both knew it. He stared at me, and I could tell he was trying to figure out exactly what to do with me. "Turn around," he said in a firm voice.

"No." I replied.

"Do it! Now!" he yelled, and my eyes lifted in surprise. Oh damn. I'd really gotten him fired up now! I finally acquiesced, standing up and turning around. "On your knees." I turned my head to look at him, and then I felt him behind me, pushing me onto the bed. "Did I tell you to turn around and look at me?" He growled, leaning over me to bite my shoulder. I groaned. "Answer me, Samantha."

Oh shit. He pulled the full name. I was in BIG trouble.

"No," I responded quietly.

"No, I didn't," Freddie responded, and I felt him run his fingertips over my back lightly. "I warned you not to push me, didn't I?"

"Yes," I said. He moved his hand away, and for a moment everything was silent. I knew better than to turn my head, because if I did, whatever he was planning to do to me, I'd get it even worse.

THWACK!

"Aaah!" I screamed, mostly in shock as I felt his hand come down hard on my ass. Jesus, that hurt!

"Still wanna try to call the shots?" he asked, his hand rubbing the spot he'd just smacked. There was no way in hell he'd go beyond this, so I was free to talk shit a little bit longer.

"Shut up!"

"Hmm. Guess that answers my question," he responded, before bringing his hand down again, in the same exact spot as before.

"Fuck!" I yelled, gritting my teeth.

"You done yet?" he asked.

"Fuck you!" I hissed.

"Sam." He said my name in a very pointed, flat tone of voice, like he was warning me not to push him any further. "You may wanna give up now."

"No way," I replied, trying to get back up, gasping in surprise when I felt his hand go to my shoulder and pushing my back down.

THWACK!

"I didn't tell you to do that," he growled. "Now, you can keep pushing me, or I can smack your ass again. It's getting pretty red you know."

"I'll take my chances," I replied. Maybe I was pushing him too much, but god, I couldn't stop myself! I felt like we'd both reached this very dark parts of ourselves we hadn't gotten to before.

"Bad decision," he responded, slapping me on the ass again. Oh god, how far was this going to go? It was really starting to hurt, but in that good way that got me even more fired up. "You gonna do what I say now?"

I didn't respond, and he brought his hand down one more time.

"Ow!" I shrieked. Okay, that was all I could take, and I let my arms give out so I could lay down.

"Baby?" Freddie asked, grabbing me and flipping me over, staring at me intently.

I didn't respond, just took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. He looked worried.

"Too far?"

I was still trying to keep my composure. I honestly didn't know if he had gone too far, I was still trying to figure it out.

"Sam, say SOMETHING," he pressed. "Baby, if I went too far, you gotta tell me! Remember what we said?"

I looked up at him. "I don't know. I'm not just saying that, I really don't know."

"If you don't know, then it's too far," he responded, bending down to kiss me softly. "You wanna stop?"

I shook my head. "No."

"You wanna pull back a little?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Tell me what you want, and I'll do it," he said. "I'm sorry, I went too far."

"It's okay," I replied, my arms going around his neck. "I was trying to push you, to see how far you'd go."

"I only go as far as you let me," he responded, and I nodded.

"I know."

"So what do you want me to do?" he asked. I was silent for a moment. "Baby?"

"My ass hurts," I responded.

"Sorry, baby," he said sheepishly. He laid down next to me, staring up at the ceiling. Well, this was awkward. We'd never been in this position before. He could take whatever I gave him, and vice-versa. This was the first time we'd gotten this close to breaking a limit. I didn't think it had technically been broken, but one more step and we'd probably be having a different conversation right now. It was good that we knew though. His eyebrows lifted in surprise when my mouth covered his, my hand trailing up and down his chest.

"You know I love you, right?" I asked. "Even if we get too rough?"

He nodded. "And I love you. I'm sorry, I just..."

"It's my fault," I said with a shrug. "I wouldn't back down."

"Yeah, you were being a little..resistant tonight," he commented, his hand rubbing my back.

"It's okay," I replied. I pushed at his shoulder a bit. "Roll over."

"Why? So you can hit me on the ass and get even?" he asked, completely serious.

"Nope," I replied. "So I can spend a little bit of time rubbing those sexy ass muscles of yours. And then you can do the same to me. After we spend a little time rubbing all over each other's naked bodies, we'll both be ready to go again." I smiled at him, and his hand went to the back of his neck, bringing my head down to his and kissing me.

"I really lucked out when I got you, you know that?" he asked after we'd separated.

"Yeah, I know," I teased. "Now roll your sexy ass over, I wanna grope your muscles."


	63. Chapter 63: She Said She Said

**A/N: Short, transitional, and dramatic.**

**Chapter Sixty Three:  
><strong>**She Said She Said**

~*Freddie*~

THUD.

"Aaah!" I yelled, my hands going behind my head to frantically try to scrape the snow out of the neck of my jacket. I spun around, glaring at Sam and Brad. "Who threw that?"

"Uh...Carly," Sam responded, looking around innocently.

"Sam!" Carly and Brad yelled, and Sam just shrugged.

I took a step toward her, glaring.

"What?" she asked calmly. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Hey, baby?" I asked. "You see that snowbank over there?"

"Yeah..." she said slowly.

"Wanna take a closer look?" I didn't wait for a response, just picked her up, ignoring her squeals, throwing her over my shoulder and then dropping her in the massive pile of snow sitting outside our apartment complex. She sat quickly, grabbing my leg and yanking me down with her, before jumping on top of me.

"You are SO dead!" she yelled.

"And...now they're doing it in the snow. Great," Brad commented, looking at us and rolling his eyes.

Sam and I looked at each other, before beginning to pelt snow at Brad and Carly. Carly squealed, ducking behind Brad.

It was amazing how fast time seemed to go by these days. Sam and I had been out of school for nearly a month and a half now, Thanksgiving was right around the corner, and there was SNOW on the ground. I couldn't believe that in two months we'd have been married for six months, but like I said, time flew by. Probably because we'd had to deal with so much, but even so, life was good. After the night about a month ago when we'd pushed each other way too far, we had to lay down actual hard limits, and it was working. We'd tried to just go the "normal" route and not get rough with each other at all, but it wasn't very long until Sam had tired of it and slammed me against our bedroom door one day and just had her way with me. I didn't argue. But we still had to establish limits. It was too easy for either one of us to cross a line otherwise.

Our bet over who could finish school first was still going strong, and it seemed to motivate us even more. The girl was giving me a run for my money, I'll admit it, she was starting to make me a little nervous that she actually would finish before I did! Either way though, I was just ready to get it done and over with, so we could move on to the next chapter in our lives.

I stood up, reaching down to grab Sam and pull her out of the snowbank, and she stood up, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me.

"Your lips are cold," she commented, kissing me again.

"So are yours," I responded. We kept kissing, thoughts of Brad and Carly and the freezing cold completely gone from our minds.

"Do you guys EVER stop?" Carly and Brad yelled at us. We finally broke apart, and I shook my head.

"Nope," I said.

"Don't mind them, they're squares," Sam said with a grin, and Carly looked offended.

"We are NOT squares! Brad, are we squares?"

"Of course not, babe," Brad responded, kissing her on the forehead. "They're pervs, remember?" Carly nodded, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, we're happy pervs."

I nodded, my wife had a point.

"Can we finish this conversation inside the Groovie Smoothie?" Brad asked. "I'm freezing my Gibbys off!"

I shrugged, the guy had a point. The four of us finished walking to the Groovie Smoothie. I pulled off my scarf and unzipped my jacket, plopping down. Man, it was cold!

"You want the usual?" Sam asked after she'd yanked her hat off.

"Mmhmm. Thanks baby," I replied.

"Yep. Be right back," she responded, walking to the counter with Carly close behind.

"So...Tacoma," I commented, looking at Brad. "No Carly for four days."

"Don't remind me," Brad groaned with a sour expression. "I'm not looking forward to it."

"Well it's not like you'd get to see her if you stayed anyway, she's going to Yakima with Spencer and April."

"Yeah, I know. It still sucks though," Brad grunted, drumming his fingers on the table. We sat there for a moment in silence until Carly and Sam came back.

"Sugar-free strawberry banana blast for you," Sam said, sitting down next to me and kissing me on the cheek. I grabbed the back of her head so she wouldn't pull away, kissing her on the mouth.

"Thanks, gorgeous," I responded after we'd separated.

"So, is your mom still going away with Robert for Thanksgiving?" Carly asked me. "What do you think about that?"

"Well, Dr. Carly," I responded with a roll of my eyes. "I don't. I refuse to think about it."

"Yeah, Freddie's in denial," Sam commented.

"Ugh, still?" Carly asked, and I nodded.

"Yep, I have permanently set up camp in the land of denial, and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon."

"Well, what are you gonna do when they get married?" Brad asked. "Because you know it's gonna happen eventually!"

"Don't say that!" I replied. "I refuse to think about that either. Can we change the subject?"

"To what?" Carly asked.

"Oh, I dunno...how about this?" I asked, pulling an envelope out of my jacket pocket and laying it on the table. I'd gotten this in the mail and hadn't told anyone, smirking a bit as I watched Sam, Carly, and Brad's eyes fixate on it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Carly asked me, and I nodded.

"Yep. The first affiliate marketing check."

"Dude, what are you waiting for?" Brad asked, reaching across the table to nudge me. "Open it!"

"K," I replied, tearing it open. I unfolded it, and my eyes widened. "Holy shit."

Sam's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "That's a LOT of zeroes."

"Let me see!" Carly exclaimed, snatching it out of my hands and peering at it. "Whoa."

"What? What does it say? Let me – holy hell!" Brad said. "Is this for real?"

I nodded, and Sam poked me. "Split four ways, that's...?"

"About two thousand five hundred. Each."

"Shit!" Sam said. "That's a lot of green! And this is for what, two months worth?"

"Yeah," I replied, a little shocked myself.

"Baby!" Sam exclaimed. "We can totally afford our own place now!" She threw her arms around my neck happily.

"Yeah, we can," I said. "So...after Thanksgiving we can start looking."

"Are you guys gonna move out of Bushwell?" Carly asked me, and I shrugged.

"I mean, we're still weighing our options. If something's open we'll take a look at it, but...you never know."

"Maybe we should wait though...you know how expensive apartments are here in Seattle...we still have to get furniture and all kinds of stuff...maybe wait two more months?" Sam asked me. No! I wanted our own place now! But she did have a point.

"I dunno, we'll talk about it later, okay baby?" I replied, and she nodded. Her eyes went to the door, and she straightened up, a smile on her face.

"There's Melanie!" she said, waving. "Mel!"

"Oh, hey guys!" Melanie said, walking over to us. "How goes it?"

We rarely saw Melanie these days. She hardly ever stayed at Carly's anymore; she'd become a champion couch surfer, rotating through the entire cheerleading squad and spending the nights at their houses. She and Sam still talked and texted all the time, but she wasn't as much of a factor in our lives as I'd thought she was going to be.

"Eh," Sam responded. "We're good. So...you never did get back to me...Spencer and Carly are gonna be gone...are you staying with us, or..."

"Nope," Melanie responded. "Carrie invited me to go skiing with her and her parents, so..." she shrugged. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Sam replied. "Just needed to know whether or not I'd have to wear clothes around the apartment or not." Oh jesus, I was REALLY looking forward to the holidays.

"Lovely," Melanie said with a laugh. "Well, I'm gonna go sit over there with my friends, I'll see you guys later!" She walked away, and as soon as she was out of earshot, Brad breathed a sigh of relief.

"Close one for you guys!" he said.

"Brad, shut up!" Sam said. "She's still my sister!"

"Yeah but...alright fine, nevermind." Brad replied, sipping at his smoothie. "I am so not looking forward to Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, me neither," Carly commented. "It's going to suck."

"It's only four days, you guys can handle it!" Sam said, and Carly glared at her.

"Easy for you to say! You and Freddie have been married for four and a half months, and how long have you spent apart from each other?"

"We spend time apart!" I said defensively, and Brad rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, hours, not days! You guys wouldn't survive more than twelve hours apart, and you know it!"

"That's not...true," Sam grumbled, looking down at the table. Brad did have a point...the longest I'd ever been away from Sam without seeing or talking to her at all had been the night she'd been in the hospital before I'd gotten to see her...it had been about six hours. Ugh, maybe they were right...if for some reason we weren't together, I could only deal for about an hour before I'd call or text her.

"Yeah? Prove it," Brad replied calmly. "Hey, Freddie, wanna come to Tacoma with me? Sam can go to Yakima with Carly."

"No way!" she and I both said.

"I'm not spending my first Thanksgiving as a married couple in Yakima with Carly, forget it!" Sam shot back.

"Because you can't do it," Carly challenged. "Face it, Sam, it's IMPOSSIBLE for you to be without Freddie. He's like your crutch now."

"I don't have crutches!" Sam yelled.

"Yes, you do! Ham and Freddie!"

"Look, forget it, we're not doing that, Carly, so drop it," I told her. It was silent for a moment.

"Somebody's whipped," Brad muttered under his breath, and I glared at him.

"I am not whipped."

"Yeah, you kinda are," Carly said. "You both are. You can't even make a single move without the other one's approval!"

"That's not true. I don't tell her what to do," I replied.

"Ahem. Sometimes you do," Sam said with a grin, poking me.

"Only when you beg me to," I replied, leaning toward her so I could kiss her. Brad and Carly groaned, and I glared at them again.

"I'd be willing to put money on it that you couldn't survive Thanksgiving break without each other," Brad said.

"I second that motion, I'd also put money on it," Carly replied. "Like...half my cut from the affiliate marketing."

"Yeah, me too," Brad said.

Shit. That's a lot of money, and they just hit Sam's weak point. The girl couldn't turn down a bet to save her life. I looked at Sam, noticing the way her eyebrows went up, and I groaned.

"Why did you guys just do that?" I snapped. "Now you've piqued her interest, and I had plans! Plans that involved lots of really good stuff!"

"Oh, you guys can take a break from constantly jumping each other's bones!" Carly commented with a grin. "Come on, take the bet! If you win, you'd have enough to get an apartment sooner rather than later."

Damn it, now they've piqued MY interest! But could I really go four entire DAYS without Sam?

Sam and I looked at each other, and I could tell we were both thinking the same thing.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. The two of you are betting the two of us twenty five hundred bucks that we can't survive four days without each other," I stated.

"Yep," Brad replied. "I mean, if the next marketing check is as big as this one, I'd be willing to take the hit, but I'm assuming you won't be able to do it."

I groaned, leaning back in my chair. "Baby?"

"It's a lot of money," Sam commented. "But...four days is a really long time."

"Chicken," Carly taunted. "Bawk bawk bawk!"

"Shut it, Shay!" Sam growled. "Fine, it's on! I'll go with you to Yakima, Freddie will go with Brad to Tacoma, and when it's over the two of you pay the two of us twenty five hundred bucks!"

"Deal!" Brad yelled. "Then I can finish paying off the Mustang from my dad."

"And I can get a new wardrobe. So many clothes. And shoes. Clothes and shoes. Yay!" Carly said.

"No, you're gonna be twelve hundred fifty bucks lighter, Carly!" Sam shot back. She stood up, extending her hand. "Shake."

Carly and Sam shook hands, and I did the same with Brad.

"So it's on?" I asked Sam, and she nodded.

"Oh yeah, it's on."

~*Brad*~

"So I think instead of riding with your parents, get Freddie to drive his car to Tacoma," Carly commented as we walked into her apartment.

"Why?" I replied, sitting on the couch.

"Duh, Brad! They'll win if they don't have an out, but if Freddie has his car..." she said with a raise of her eyebrows, and I followed what she was getting at exactly.

"...he'll bounce out the second he gets weak. And then we win. Perfect!" I said. "Damn babe, good plan."

"I know," she said with a grin, bending down to kiss me. "I'm gonna get changed real quick, and then we can go to the movie, okay?"

"Okay," I replied. "We've still got half an hour, so take your time."

"Alright," she replied, heading for the stairs. "I'll be back."

I sat there for awhile, messing with my phone, until I became aware of the sound of a door opening. Spencer's door. Oh god.

"Hey there, Brad!" Spencer said in an upbeat voice. I groaned to myself; anything involving me and Spencer was bad. At least I didn't have to worry about him attacking me anymore, but things were still a little intense.

"Hey, Spencer," I said, not bothering to look at him. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know. Not much. Say, what's up with you? Anything new? Anything you wanna tell me?" He bent over the back of the couch, his face inches from my head. I rolled my eyes, finally looking at him.

"What's going on?" I responded.

"Oh, nothing. Do you know what this is?" he asked, handing me a white plastic stick. I looked at it, and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head.

"What is this?" I shouted, leaping to my feet. I had a pretty good idea of what it was, but I was completely in shock.

"Why, it's a pregnancy test, Brad! A sexually active teenager like you, a sexually active teenager who's sexually active WITH MY SISTER should know that!" Spencer hollered.

"Well...it's not mine!" I yelled, dropping it like it was on fire. Spencer stared at me, then shook his head.

"Yes, thank you for clearing THAT up for me. Know anything about it?"

"No! We've been using protection!" I said. "What...is it positive?"

"Yeah it's positive!" Spencer shouted. "You think I'd waste breath on you if it was negative? Did you knock my sister up, man?"

"No!" I yelled. "I mean, I don't think so! Carly would tell me, she wouldn't sneak off and take a test without telling me...I don't think...oh god, this is SO bad."

"Well, if it's not Carly's, then whose is it?" he responded. We stared at each other for a few moments, and our eyes widened at the exact same time.

"SHIT!" We yelled, opening the door and running across the hall.

"FREDDIE!" I yelled, banging on the door. "FREDDIE!"

"FREDDIE OPEN THE DOOR!" Spencer hollered. "EMERGENCY!"

The door opened a minute later, and there stood Freddie, shirtless, out of breath, and pissed off.

"Somebody better be dead," he growled. "Because I was in the middle of something, something really good!"

"You may wanna hold out on that for awhile," I said, giving him a Look.

"What? Why? Why on earth would I do that?" he responded, looking confused.

"Freddie, make them leave!" I heard Sam whine from their room, and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, I dunno, because of this?" I asked, thrusting the pregnancy test into his face. His eyes focused on it, and his jaw dropped.

"Shit," he said. "Who's is this?"

"We don't know!" Spencer yelled. "That's why we're here!"

Freddie stared at us for a moment, before looking behind him. "Fuck," he said simply. "Sam! I'll be right back, baby!"

"Are you kidding me? You don't leave your naked wife in bed by herself! What the hell?"

"I'll be right back!" he yelled, shutting the door behind him. I could hear a string of yells coming from behind the closed apartment door, but we all ignored it, running back into Carly's and Spencer's, the three of us going into Spencer's room.

"Oh god," Freddie moaned. "This is bad! Somebody's pregnant!"

"Geez, no shit Fredward!" I yelled, punching him in the arm. "But is it Carly or Sam?"

"It could be Melanie," Freddie commented, rubbing his arm and glaring at me. Spencer was silent, pacing back and forth.

"Okay," he said. "Freddie, call Melanie, get her over here, then make Sam get dressed, we're gonna get to the bottom of this."

~*Sam*~

I was BEYOND pissed off.

"Can I just say that whoever's responsible for this is about to get their ass beat?" I yelled, glaring at Freddie, Brad, and Spencer. "I mean...I...I just got interrupted, from my favorite activity, and I'm not talking about eating!"

"Calm down, Sam," Carly warned, hopping up on the counter next to me. "What's going on, guys?"

"Yeah, this is really cutting into my social life," Melanie commented, flipping her hair over her shoulders.

"Someone's about to get a HUGE dent in their social life!" Spencer hollered. "Do you know what this is?" He held up a white stick, and Carly, Mel, and myself gasped in shock.

"Carly!" I yelled. "We gave you guys that case of condoms we didn't need anymore for a reason!"

"I knew it!" Spencer hollered, tackling Brad to the ground. "You're dead!"

"Spencer, no!" Carly screamed, hopping off the counter. "It's not mine! Sam, shut up!"

I rolled my eyes, hopping off the counter and putting Spencer into a headlock. "Put pretty boy down, or I'll snap your neck!"

"Why does this keep happening to me?" Spencer whined, still not letting go of Brad, who was flailing around like crazy.

"Spence, drop him!" I yelled, tightening my hold.

"Ugh, fine!" Spencer groaned, letting go of Brad, who fell to the ground. Brad was fuming.

"I am gonna sock you upside the head one of these days, mark my words!"

"Alright!" Freddie hollered, stepping between Brad and Spencer, who was still in my headlock. "Everyone calm the fuck down! Brad, back off! Sam, let him go baby."

"Fine," I responded, loosening my grip and letting him fall on the ground. I hopped back on the counter nonchalantly like nothing had happened.

"Baby, is it yours?" Freddie asked me, and I shook my head.

"Nope. I'm on the pill, remember?"

"Well pills can fail, I'm just making sure," he replied. "Are you sure?"

"Unless I'm taking tests in my sleep, no, it's not mine," I responded, giving him a withering stare. He backed down, sighing a bit, probably in relief. We wanted kids, sure, but not yet.

"Okay, so it's not Carly, and it's not Sam, so..." Brad trailed off, and everyone's eyes slowly slid over to Melanie.

"What?" she squeaked. "It's not mine, I swear!"

"Mel," I said, giving her a Look.

"What? It can't be mine! I'm on the rag!" she shouted.

"Ohhh!" the boys all yelled, making disgusted faces.

"That is so gnarly," Brad said. "Could have gone without hearing that!" I rolled my eyes. Boys could sit there and watch the goriest of gory movies for hours, blood and guts everywhere, but if the blood came from lady parts they all turned into pansies.

"Okay, that means one of you is lying!" Spencer shouted. "Which one of you is pregnant?"

Carly, Melanie, and I started defending ourselves, Spencer kept yelling, Freddie kept trying to get Spencer to shut up, and Brad was starting to freak out over the idea that Carly might actually be pregnant. We were so wrapped up in all the drama we didn't even notice that April had walked in.

"You guys?"

More arguing.

"Hello?"

It was as if she wasn't even in the room!

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" she screamed loudly, and we all stopped, staring at her in shock.

"April, when'd you get here honey-bunny?" Spencer asked, and we all rolled our eyes, groaning.

"What is going on?" she cried, hands on her hips. "You guys are acting like crazy people!"

"This!" Spencer yelled, holding up the pregnancy test. "One of them is pregnant, and we're trying to figure out who! Carly you are dead if it's you!"

"I'm not pregnant!" Carly yelled, and then everyone started arguing again.

"SHUT UP!" April hollered again, and we stopped, staring at her. "You guys are ridiculous! Spencer, I can't believe you!"

"But, April!" Spencer cried. "You don't get it, I-"

"Oh, I get it," she replied. "Spencer, none of them are pregnant."

"But then why..."

"It's MY test. I'M pregnant!" April said.

Oh. My. God. SPENCER procreated? We all stood there, gaping at her.

"So...you mean..." Spencer trailed off again, his jaw dropping.

"I'm pregnant. With your baby. Spencer, you and I are going to be parents," April replied.

Holy. Shit.


	64. Chapter 64: Take Good Care of My Baby

**A/N: Yeah, so this is a little short, but I'm gonna try to get an additional chapter up tonight! **

**Chapter Sixty Four:  
>Take Good Care of my Baby<strong>

~*Freddie*~

After we'd managed to revive Spencer off the floor, he and April had retreated to his room to "talk", Melanie had bounced off to wherever Melanies go, and Brad and Carly ducked out to go to a movie. Sam and I left Carly's apartment and walked across the hall to our own.

"Can you BELIEVE that?" I asked her as I shut the door and locked it.

"No. The idea of Spencer being a father is kind of weird...I mean...can you imagine him...with a baby?" she responded.

"Not really," I replied. "It's really odd, but...I guess it's done now, no going back for them."

"Alright, can we stop talking about Spencer and April now?" Sam asked, her arms going around my neck.

"What should we talk about instead?" I replied, rubbing her back softly.

"I don't want to talk," she said softly. She pulled away, grabbing my hand and leading me back to the bedroom. She flopped down on the bed, holding her arms out. "Lay down with me."

I happily obliged, laying down next to her and pulling her into my arms. She laid her head on my chest, sighing softly.

"Something on your mind?" I asked, playing with her hair, and she shrugged.

"Maybe this bet is a bad idea."

"Too late to go back now, baby."

"I know," she said softly. "But I still don't want to go through with it."

"Scared we're gonna lose?"

"I don't care about the money. I don't wanna be away from you. I love you," she replied, lifting her head to kiss me.

"I love you too, baby. But come on, we can handle it."

She scoffed. "Yeah, right. Aside from the little stunt I pulled running away to Vegas, we have never gone more than one day without seeing or talking to each other in like five years!"

My eyes widened. God, she was right! And that meant Brad and Carly were right...we WERE dependent on each other!

"Do you think that's bad?" I asked her, and she shrugged.

"Probably not entirely healthy, but I don't really care. I don't want to be away from you," she replied. "But we can't back out, like you said. There's too much money at stake. And I'm really ready to get our own place."

"Me too, baby," I said, kissing her forehead. She looked up at me for a second before brushing her lips across mine, and my hand went to the back of her head so she wouldn't pull away. She sighed softly and I felt her throw a leg over me. I shifted a little so I was on my side, continuing to kiss her, trying to pick up where we'd left off before being interrupted by Brad and Spencer. Her hands went to the hem of my shirt, pulling it up, and we separated so she could pull it over my head. I groaned as I felt her mouth go to my neck, her tongue licking a trail up to my ear before nibbling on it as she brought her hips against mine, grinding urgently.

"Damn, baby," I moaned, grabbing her hips to pull her against me harder. "You're wearing too many clothes."

"You're right, I am," she said with a smile. "So fix it."

"No problem. Sit up," I said, groaning a bit as she straddled me. I pulled her tank top off her followed by her bra, sitting up to take one of her beautiful breasts into my mouth. She moaned, arching into me.

"Oh, god...I love your mouth," she whispered.

"Good," I replied, flipping her onto her back and yanking her sweatpants off. "I wanna hear exactly how much you love my mouth. Don't hold back." I licked over her collarbone before kissing a trail down her body.

"Might alert the entire complex if I do that," she gasped as I scraped my teeth over her hipbone.

"Don't care," I replied, pulling her underwear down over her shapely legs. "I love it when you're loud." I kissed her inner thigh, and she sucked in a deep breath.

"Only to pump up your ego," she responded, glaring at me with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Guys do worse things to pump up their egos," I reminded her, and she nodded.

"I'm lucky, I guess."

"Less talking, more screaming," I responded, before throwing her legs over my shoulders and licking over her. She gasped, throwing her head back.

"Oh, god..." she moaned. "Don't stop baby!"

"I'm not," I replied. "Not for awhile. You think you can take it?"

"Yeah," she said, sucking in a sharp breath as I found her sensitive spot. I took my time licking over her slowly, bringing her to the edge repeatedly and then pulling back, over and over, until she started to beg me.

"Please, baby..." she gasped, shaking a little, trying to grind her hips against me. "Please..."

"Please what?" I asked, pulling away to run my tongue over her hipbones again, before going back to her sweet, sensitive center. She arched her back in a way that seemed not quite human, her hands gripping fistfuls of sheets and her head tossing back and forth.

"Aah!" she moaned. "You know what! Please!"

"Say it," I replied, one of my hands moving up her body to toy with her breasts, pushing her even closer.

"God, Freddie!" she cried. "You're such an asshole!"

"You love it," I reminded her before flicking my tongue across her. "Now say it."

She whimpered a bit, continuing to move her hips up and down. I pushed a finger into her, moving in and out slowly, trying to tease her.

"Oh god...shit...Freddie...aah...please...please baby..."

"Come on, sexy, beg me for it," I taunted her. "I wanna hear it."

"Freddie! Please!" she whined. "Please just let me..."

"Please just let you what?" I asked, before going back to licking at her full-force, bringing her to the edge again and pulling back right before she exploded. Her hands went to the back of my head, fingers tangling through my hair, trying to hold me still, but I wasn't having it. I jerked my head away, glaring at her.

"Give me what I want, or you don't get what you want."

"Ugh! Fine!" she yelled. I grinned at her, before lowering my head again, adding another finger and moving in and out of her faster.

"Oh god...oh god...oh fuck..." she gasped, shaking. "Baby, please...please just let me come!"

"You got it, baby," I growled against her, picking up my pace. She cried out, arching her back again, her hands scrambling to grip onto something before going back to my head. Damn, I loved it when she got like this...no self control. This time I'd let her go. Sam thought I only did this because I liked the ego boost, and I did, but it wasn't the only reason I did it. I knew her body better than she did; the longer I kept her at the edge, the more intense it'd be for her, that was what I was really after.

"Fuck...Freddie...oh god...oh god...baby...I'm...aaaah! FREDDIE!" she cried out as her body shook uncontrollably. She collapsed a moment later, and I moved back up her body, brushing her hair off her sweaty forehead and kissing her softly.

"Feel better?" I asked her, and she nodded, still trying to catch her breath. I kissed her neck softly before moving to her ear. "We're not done yet," I whispered before capturing her earlobe between my teeth, and she moaned. I sat up, and her hands went to my belt, frantically moving to unbuckle it before doing the same with the button and zipper of my pants. I pulled them off quickly, moving back between her legs, and she grabbed my shoulders, jerking me down on top of her and kissing me passionately.

"Hurry up," she said huskily in my ear. "I want you inside me now."

"You don't want me to take my time?" I teased her, moving my hips against her but not sliding into her quite yet. She caught me off-guard when her legs went around my waist and she tightened them quickly, pushing me inside her. I groaned, burying my face in her neck as my hips seemed to move on their own.

"Someone's in a hurry," I whispered in her ear, moaning a bit as she moved against me.

"You do that to me," she said, kissing me furiously, digging her nails into my shoulder. I groaned as I felt that familiar pain-pleasure feeling that drove me crazy. Sex with Sam was like a giant metaphor for our entire relationship; it hurt and felt amazing at the same time and it was too much and not enough all at once. I doubted I'd ever get enough of her, and I never wanted the day to come where I did. I grabbed one of her legs and draped it over my shoulder, making her moan loudly. It drove her crazy because it let me get even deeper. I was a pretty big fan myself.

"You feel so good, baby..." I groaned, moving my hips in a circular motion to drive her crazy, smiling when I felt her nails dig in even more and she let out an even louder moan than before. She was getting close again, and god I loved it.

"Oh god, baby..." she moaned, her hips grinding against me frantically. "Don't stop...don't stop...please don't stop...please...ohh...don't stop...AAAH!" Her eyes rolled back into her head before she buried her face in my shoulder, holding onto me tightly. I wasn't done with her yet though, I wanted to keep pushing her to the edge over and over. In just one day we'd be apart for a full ninety six hours, and I was determined to give her some really good stuff to think about while we were apart.

"I love you," I said, kissing her deeply, and she moaned against my mouth. She pulled her leg down and then wrapped her arms around my neck, continuing to kiss me.

"I love you so much, Freddie," she gasped as I continued moving in and out of her.

"You want more?" I asked, bending down to lick at her breasts, and she moaned.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly. "Yeah. Don't stop."

"I won't," I responded. "I'm never gonna stop. We're gonna stay like this, for the rest of our lives."

"You promise?" she asked, looking at up me.

"I swear it," I replied.

She didn't respond, just jerked my head back down to hers, kissing me passionately.

The next four days were going to be the hardest, most painful four days of our lives.

~*Sam*~

This sucked, I thought to myself as I stuffed clothes into my duffel bag and flopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

I didn't want to do this, and I can't believe I'd been dumb enough to agree to willingly be apart from Freddie for four entire days! What we were we thinking? I mean, I know there'd been money involved, but still. The idea of not having him right there with me was slightly terrifying. And I worried whether or not he'd remember to take his insulin shots and not eat sugar. And not being able to lay in bed with him at night...ugh, this was the worst idea ever!

"You okay, baby?" Freddie asked as he turned away from his closet to look at me.

"No," I responded. "I'm not. This is a stupid idea. It's a stupid bet, Yakima is a stupid city, and Thanksgiving is a stupid holiday!"

"I'm sure the Pilgrims appreciate that," he commented with a smile.

"Pilgrims are stupid," I snapped. "And how come you're being so cool about this?"

"Well one of us has to be the voice of reason," he replied, walking over the bed and sitting down next to me. "And it seems like your voice of reason has already exited the building."

I glared at him wordlessly, and he grabbed my arms, pulling me into a sitting position. "Come here, baby." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the side of the head. "We'll be fine. It's only four days."

"Stupidest four days ever. Stupidest bet ever," I commented.

"Well, we could have said no."

"No, we couldn't. Because we're -"

"Stupid?" Freddie finished. "Yeah, I know."

I ignored him. "Do you have all your insulin pens?"

"Yes, baby. Twenty of them, four extra just in case."

"And the fast-acting ones too?"

"Yep."

"And your glucose meter?"

"Baby, I'm good!" Freddie responded, kissing me. "I'll be fine, okay? You'll be fine too. Both of us will be fine, and when the four days is over, you know how intense it's gonna be when we finally see each other."

I didn't speak, just pulled out of his grasp and pulled my phone out, staring at him.

"What?" he asked, and I gave him a mischievous grin.

"Take off your shirt. If I have to go four days without you, I need me some good visual aids."

Freddie smiled and shook his head before whipping his shirt off and tossing it in my direction. "Only if you do the same."

"Deal," I replied. "Now hold still."

~*Carly*~

"You sure you're going to be able to do this?" I asked Sam as we got off the elevator, dragging our duffel bags behind us.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she grunted. "No way in hell am I backing down from a twenty five hundred dollar bet."

"But four days is such a long time," I teased, and she glared at me.

"You're going to do everything you can to win this bet, aren't you?" Sam asked, and I shrugged.

"Maybe. I really need some new clothes."

"Carly! When did you get so damn evil?" Sam asked, her hands on her hips.

I shrugged. "When you started getting soft on me."

"I am NOT getting soft!" Sam responded, sounding offended. "I'm still hard as ever!"

"Uh-huh," I replied. "So did you bring the bunny Freddie gave you?"

"His name is Nosferatu! And...he's in my duffel."

I laughed, rolling my eyes as we walked out the door. Freddie and Brad were already outside, putting their bags in Freddie's car. April's car was parked right behind Freddie's, and I was pretty excited about the idea of riding in a Mercedes. Geez, she was loaded. Loaded, and pregnant. I was still having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that my brother was going to be a father...and I was going to be an aunt. Aunt Carly. How weird.

"Baby, let me get that," Freddie said, grabbing Sam's bag and throwing it in the trunk of April's car. Sam didn't respond, just stared at the ground, her arms crossed. Freddie turned around and looked at her, his face softening. "Sam...honey..." he trailed off, pulling her into his arms. "It's okay. I promise."

"No it's not," she responded, her voice a little muffled from Freddie's shoulder. "This is so stupid."

"You can still back out," Brad commented, and Freddie and Sam both gave him a glare that was so nasty, if their eyes had been laser-beams Brad would have disintegrated then and there. "Geez, sorry..." he said, walking over to me. "Think I pissed them off."

"Be nice," I whispered. "They're having a rough time with this."

"They're acting like they're going off to war or something," Brad commented. "I mean, we're handling it okay."

"Yeah but..." I trailed off. Brad and I were close, but nothing like Sam and Freddie. The two of them had been through a lot together, each of them had almost lost the other one, and they willingly spent all of their time together. They literally lived for each other. Even though they had one of the most twisted and confusing relationships I'd ever seen, it was still ridiculously romantic how attached they were.

"I'm still gonna miss you though," Brad said. "A lot. I love you, Carly."

I looked up at him and smiled, my arms going around his neck. "I love you too. You'll call me when you get there?"

"Of course. Be safe, okay?"

"You too. Try not to let Freddie freak out too much," I reminded him.

"But how will we win then?"

I scoffed. "We really don't have to do much. They'll both cave. Trust me." Brad shrugged.

"Okay. If you say so," he responded.

"Sup party people?" Spencer called as he walked out of Bushwell with April in tow. "You guys ready for this?"

I sighed. "Not really."

"Aw, Carly doesn't want to be away from her boyfwiend?" Spencer cooed, pinching my cheeks. I growled, slapping his hands away.

"Shut up, Spencer! If you wanna give someone crap go talk to Freddie and Sam!"

"No way. I'm not suicidal," he replied, putting he and April's bags in her trunk before turning to her. "You ready for this?"

She shrugged. "I'm kind of nervous, meeting your grandfather and all."

"Oh, he'll love you, April," I said with a wave of my hand. "It's a major step towards normalcy for Spencer."

"She's right. Granddad's been wanting me to act normal since I could walk," Spencer commented.

"Yeah, he never could grasp the concept," I added, and Spencer shrugged, nodding. April laughed, shaking her head.

"Come on, we should probably go, right?" she asked, and Spencer nodded. I looked over at Sam and Freddie, who were engaged in a very passionate liplock, like they never wanted to let go.

"Sam! We gotta go!" I called, and Sam looked over at me before going back to kissing Freddie. "Sam, now!"

"Sam come on!" Spencer yelled.

Sam finally pulled away half-heartedly, looking up at Freddie. "I don't wanna go," she said softly.

"I don't want you to go," he replied, kissing her again. "But we'll be fine. You got the extra laptop, right? We can video chat."

She nodded, and I heard her suck in a shaky breath.

"Don't cry, baby," Freddie said, kissing her again. "Go get in the car, I'll call you when we get to Tacoma, okay?"

"Okay," she sighed. "I love you."

"I love you so, so much, baby," Freddie responded. "I'll see you soon." They kissed each other one last time, and Sam turned around, walking towards April's car, her head hanging down mournfully. God, it was pitiful! I couldn't even tease her it made me feel so bad.

Freddie seemed to be in pretty bad shape himself, the way his shoulders slumped as he turned and walked towards Brad's car.

"Dude, are you crying?" Brad asked.

"Shut up!" Freddie hollered. "I'm not crying! I had something in my eye!"

"Right," Brad said with a roll of his eyes, before walking over to me and giving me a quick kiss. "Love ya, babe."

"Love you too," I replied. "Call me when you get there!"

"I will, babe. Bye!" he said, turning and walking towards the car.

"Brad!" Sam yelled, and Brad turned around to look at her. "Make sure he takes his injections, please? Four times a day. Don't let him forget. Please?"

Brad nodded. "Don't worry, Sam! I got him!"

Sam nodded, still a little shaky, and gave him a small smile. "Thanks," she responded, before sliding into the backseat and shutting the door.

I gave him a wave, then walked over to the car and got in, sliding into the backseat next to Sam. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was just staring at the floorboards, sniffling a bit like she was still crying.

"Aw, Sam!" I said, my arm going around her. "Don't cry! It's okay! Freddie will be there when we get back, you know that!"

"I know," she said softly. "This is just so hard!"

I nodded, I knew how she felt to an extent, it sucked leaving Brad behind, but I wasn't falling apart like Sam was.

Spencer and April got in a moment later. I was really shocked April was letting Spencer drive, especially considering it was a Mercedes, but I didn't say anything. I looked behind me and saw Brad and Freddie leaning against the back of Freddie's car, waving a little bit.

"Alright, Yakima, here we come!" Spencer said, starting the car. He backed up a little bit to get out of the parallel parking spot, and we were off.

About fifty feet.

"WAIT!" Sam screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Aaah!" Spencer yelled in alarm, slamming hard on the brakes.

"Spencer!" April yelled.

"What? It's not my fault!" Spencer yelled. "Sam, what the -"

Click. Sam had unbuckled her seatbelt and flung the door open, running out.

"And she's out of the car," I commented, opening my door and sticking my head out. "Sam! What the hell? Get your butt back here, now- awww!" I said to myself, smiling a little.

Sam had flung the car door open, went running into the street, right toward Freddie, jumping on his and wrapping her arms and legs around him, kissing him passionately like the four days away had already taken place, and Freddie was kissing her back eagerly, like they were the only two people in the world. It incredibly romantic...and incredibly indicative Brad and I would win the bet. I looked over at Brad and laughed. He was leaning against Freddie's car, looking at the ground and shaking his head, trying not to laugh.

"God, we're NEVER going to get out of here!" Spencer grumbled.


	65. Chapter 65: Within You Without You

**A/N: Not much to say about this one, just read and find out!**

**Chapter Sixty Five:  
>Within You Without You<strong>

~*Brad*~

"This sucks," Freddie grumbled as he sped down the highway. "I can't believe I let you guys talk us into this."

"Oh come on, man!" I exclaimed. "You can survive a few days without the little woman!" Freddie just shrugged, grunting a bit. I sighed, laying my head back. The next four days would be just magical, I could tell already. I was pretty sure Freddie was just going to spend the whole time moping around.

I turned the radio on, and a song by Colbie Caillat was playing. Freddie's eyes shifted to the radio, and then to me, glaring.

'I miss those blue eyes, how you kiss me at night, I miss the way we sleep...'

"Turn that shit off!" Freddie yelled, changing the station. "Damn it! This is the worst idea ever! In the history of everything!"

"Are you going to be like this the entire time? It's not going to sit well with my family, you know that, right?" I asked. "All twenty seven of them."

"Twenty seven?" Freddie asked in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yup," I replied. "My parents, four of us kids, my dad has three brothers and a sister, my grandparents, and my fifteen cousins."

"Good god!" Freddie exclaimed. "Does no one in your family know about birth control?"

"Well...we're Catholic, so..." I trailed off, shrugging. "Don't worry, my grandparents have a REALLY big house."

Freddie nodded slowly. "Okay. Anything I need to know?"

"Uh, grandpa drinks, grandma cries...Aunt Meredith is a little...handsy...and then there's the triplets."

"Triplets?" Freddie asked, confused, and I nodded, groaning.

"Jared, Jacob, and Jason. They...uh...they're pyromaniacs, and that's putting it lightly."

"How old are they?"

"Fifteen. Should be fun though. They can make explosives out of any household chemical. Ever made a potato gun?"

"What in god's name is a potato gun?" Freddie asked worriedly, and I grinned.

"Oh man, you're in for a good time, Sam or no Sam. Although now that I think about it, Sam would have probably fit in a little bit better with my crazy family. I'm positive SHE knows what a potato gun is. Maybe you should have gone with Carly."

"Very funny," Freddie replied with a roll of his eyes. He grabbed his phone, picking it up and looking at it real quick, before setting it back down on his lap, and it slid off, landing on my side of the car.

"I'll get that," I said, bending down. "Eyes on the road, don't kill us." I grabbed Freddie's phone and accidentally hit a button, the screen lighting up. "Holy shit!" I yelled as my eyes fixated on Freddie's main screen, dropping the phone like it was a snake. It fell in my lap, and Freddie's eyes widened as he realized what I'd just seen.

"Aw, fuck, give me that!" Freddie yelled, snatching it from me. "You didn't see anything, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," I replied, my eyes still huge. Whoa. Everything was quiet for a moment, and I don't do well with awkward silences. "So Sam's pretty flexible then, huh-"

"Shut up!" Freddie yelled. "Damn!"

"Sheesh, sorry," I responded, looking out the window. "Man, I gotta get Carly to take some pictures like that..."

"Dude, I said SHUT IT!" Freddie hollered, annoyed. "You better not say anything, if Sam finds out you saw those we're both dead!"

"Then change your background, idiot! You can't have that shit floating around at my grandparents house!" I replied. "They'll think you're some kind of pervert!"

"I thought you said I was a pervert."

"They don't need to know that!" I replied.

"Fine, I'll change it," Freddie responded with a roll of his eyes.

"I can do it for you," I teased.

"Brad," he warned, looking over at me. "Touch my phone and I'll rip your arm off."

"Geez, fine!" I said, my hands going up defensively. "I was just kidding, I really don't wanna see Sam...like that." I paused. "But you're one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?"

Freddie nodded fervently. "Oh, I know. Believe me."

~*Carly*~

I leaned back in my seat, watching the scenery go by. Sam hadn't spoken a word since we'd been in the car, and I was getting bored. I looked over her and noticed she was staring at her phone intently, pushing buttons every now and then.

"Sam, are you texting Freddie?" I asked, annoyed. "You guys have been apart twenty minutes, and you can't text him while he's driving! You're gonna make them get in a wreck!"

"Shut it, Shay! I'm not texting Freddie!" she responded, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, right!" I yelled, jerking the phone out of her hands. "Then what's...whoa." My eyes widened. "Is that Freddie's abs?"

"Yep," she replied, grabbing her phone back. "Aren't they nice?"

"But...you...you could do laundry on those things!" I commented. I loved Brad, and I could never look at Freddie in a romantic way, but DAMN that kid was built! No wonder Sam was always all over him!

"I know," she responded with a grin. "Of course, he won't let me test that theory, and I don't do laundry anyway, but...man...isn't he hot?"

I shrugged, not willing to admit that Freddie had in fact become pretty attractive over the last year or so.

"And...these are his biceps..." Sam said, showing me another photo on her phone. "My favorite part. And...oops. Not that one," she said with a giggle. "That's a photo just for mama."

"That is so creepy," Spencer said from the front seat.

"What's creepy?" Sam responded.

"I dunno what's creepier, the fact that you basically have teen porn on your phone of a kid I've known since he was twelve, or the fact that you call yourself mama," Spencer replied.

"Hmm," Sam said, looking like she was considering something. "Well, wanna know what Freddie calls me?"

"NO!" We all shouted. Sam shrugged.

"Fine. I'm going back to looking at my pictures of my gorgeous mancandy."

"Mancandy?" I asked, giving her a Look, and she nodded.

"Mmhmm. Super sweet, and rock hard. Mancandy. And he melts in my..."

"AAAH!" I yelled, covering my ears.

"Sam, stop!" Spencer whined. "I don't want to think about you and Freddie...together...ewww I'm thinking about it! Aah!"

"You guys are such babies," she responded with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms and looking out the window.

"Speaking of babies, are you guys gonna tell granddad while we're here?" I asked Spencer and April, leaning forward.

Spencer's eyes slid over to April, taking her hand in his. "Not yet."

"Why not?"

"It's still pretty new to us, Carly," April responded. "We want to keep it to ourselves for just a little while longer."

"Keep it to yourselves?" I replied. "But me and Brad and Freddie and Sam already know, Melanie too."

"And you guys better keep your mouths shut!" Spencer said, looking at me in the rearview mirror. "If something about this ends up on iCarly I'll kill all of you, got it?"

"I think we have more important things to talk about on iCarly than Spencer-spawn," Sam put in.

"Sam!" I scolded her. "But she does have a point."

"So what are you guys gonna do when Sam gets pregnant? You won't be able to hide that on camera," April said, and Sam froze.

"Uh, we're holding off on that. For a few years. At least until we're both done with college, and Freddie wants to go to grad school too, so...I don't really know when we'll have kids. Some time in the next four to eight years though, definitely."

"Sam, you never know...these things have a way of taking you by surprise."

"Yeah but I'm on the pill," Sam replied, and April shrugged.

"So was I...whatever you do, don't screw up and forget a day."

"I haven't so far," Sam responded. "If I got pregnant right now it'd really mess things up for Freddie."

"It mess things up for you too!" I reminded her, and she shrugged.

"I worry more about Freddie than I worry about me."

"Well you should worry about you too! Have you thought about what you're going to do in college at all?"

"A little bit," she responded. "I was thinking about going into law. Brad's dad said I should consider it."

I made a face. "When did you meet Brad's dad?"

Sam froze, her eyes widening. "Um...did I say Brad's dad? I meant...uh...T-Bo."

"Sam!" I yelled. "What's going on? Are you keeping stuff from me again?"

"No," she said weakly. "I mean...not really. We're more like keeping it from Brad."

"What? We? What is going on? Tell me!"

Sam sighed, her head going into her hands. "Freddie's gonna kill me."

I scoffed. "Please. Freddie wouldn't kill you."

"Fine, he wouldn't kill me, but he's probably gonna rethink that ass-smacking rule..."

"Ass-smacking rule?" Spencer and I yelled.

"Oh my god!" Spencer cried. "I need earplugs! I'm turning the damn radio on! I don't want to listen to your conversations anymore! Ever again!" With that, he reached for the radio, turning the volume way up, then back down slightly when April smacked him on the arm.

"Okay, you have to tell me," I said to Sam, grabbing her arm and shaking it.

"Well, one night about a month ago, Freddie and I got a little out of line, and he..."

"Not that!" I yelled. "What big secret are you keeping from Brad? And me? Tell me!"

Sam sighed, looking out the window for a second. "Okay, fine. Remember the fight? The day he and Freddie beat the shit out of Caleb? The second time I mean?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. "Why?"

"Well, Brad came over later, before he went to see you, and told us his dad was sending him to military school. In Texas." I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand, and Sam continued. "Brad said he was going to wait until the next day to tell you. So Freddie and I went over there while Brad was with you, and convinced his dad to let him stay. Brad doesn't know any of this, he just thinks his dad had a change of heart. You can't tell him, he'll just get pissed at us."

"So..." I trailed off, going over everything in my head. "I almost lost Brad..."

"Yeah."

"But you and Freddie fixed that."

"Pretty much," she replied. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, we didn't want you guys to make a big deal out of it and-" I squealed, throwing my arms around her neck and hugging her tightly. She flailed a little bit, groaning. "Carly!" she cried in a muffled voice. "Let me go, I don't like my face in your boobs!"

"Sorry," I replied sheepishly, letting her go. "I just can't believe you did that! Sam! I love you guys so much!"

"Look, just don't tell Brad, okay? He'll think we were meddling."

"But...Sam, you were meddling," I pointed out, and she shrugged.

"That is utterly beside the point, Shay. Look, this just stays between us, okay? We just didn't want the balance getting all thrown out of whack again...you know Freddie hates when his friends cry..."

"Uh-huh," I said softly, blinking back tears.

"And yet, you're crying!" Sam exclaimed. "Why are you crying? I just told you Freddie hates when people cry!"

"I can't help it...I just...I love you guys so much!" I yelled, hugging her again.

"Oh look, it's your boobs again," she mumbled against my chest, trying to push away. "Carly! I'm not Brad!"

"Sorry," I said with a laugh, letting her go. She jerked back, fixing her hair.

"You're such a sap," she said with a glare.

"Yeah, I'm not the one who jumped out of a moving car to go kiss my man."

"Don't be so dramatic, the car wasn't moving. And I didn't jump. I hopped."

I just laughed, shaking my head and looking out the window.

~*Freddie*~

"Dude, this house is creepy," I commented as Brad and I stood in the driveway of his grandparents' house. "It's like something out of the Addam's Family. You don't happen to have an Uncle Fester, do you?"

"Don't be a dumb ass!" Brad yelled, punching me in the arm. "His name's Uncle Lester."

I whirled around, staring at him. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"I wish, he's my dad's brother," he replied. "Pop the trunk so we can get our shit."

"Hold on, I gotta call Sam," I replied, pulling my phone out. Brad looked over my shoulder, and I glared at him. "Number one, you're way too interested in naked pictures of my wife and because of that I kinda wanna punch you, and number two, you're too late, I already brought up the contacts menu."

"She's in your phone under 'My Sweet Sweet Baby'?" Brad asked, cracking up. "Oh my god. You ARE totally whipped!"

"Shut up!" I hollered, then had another thought. "Besides, you'd probably call Carly the same thing if she let you take the kind of pictures Sam lets me take of her."

"Touche," Brad responded. "And I fully intend on having a conversation with Carly about that as soon as I get back to Seattle. Now hurry up and call your Sweet Sweet Baby so we can go inside."

I glared at him again. "Don't push me," I stated, before calling Sam. It barely rang once before she answered. "Hey, baby!" I said.

"Hey, sexy," she said. I heard a bunch of muffled speaking in the background. "Shut up, Spencer!" she yelled, before going back to our conversation. "Are you in Tacoma yet?"

"Yeah, we just got to Brad's grandparents house. It's actually just on the other side of Tacoma. Big, creepy house. Like the Addam's Family."

"Oooh, does he have an Uncle Fester?" I laughed a bit.

"Nah, baby. Hey...do you know what a potato gun is?" I heard her gasp.

"Oh my god, you guys are gonna make a potato gun? Lucky! I should have gone to Brad's instead!" I rolled my eyes.

"So, how much longer until you get to Yakima?" I asked her.

"Um, probably about an hour or so," she replied. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, baby," I said. "I'll call whenever I can, okay?"

"Okay. Hey, can you send me a video of the potato gun in action?"

"Sam! I don't even know what a potato gun is!" I replied, and she groaned.

"Freddie?"

"Yes?"

"If you wanna stay married to me, don't say things like that. It's embarrassing. While you're there, tell Brad to teach you the Purel trick."

"Purel trick?" I asked, and Brad heard me, gasping excitedly.

"Hell yea! It's like instant napalm, dude!" he exclaimed, shaking my shoulders, and I rolled my eyes.

"Why do I feel like someone's gonna be spending Thanksgiving in the hospital?" I asked Sam, and she laughed.

"As long as it's not you. Just stay three to five feet away from the potato gun, okay? No more, no less."

"What? Why?"

"Baby, I gotta go," she replied. "We just stopped at a rest stop and I've really gotta pee. I'll call you when we get to Yakima, okay?"

"But why no more or no less than three to five feet?" I replied.

"I love you!"

"Why no more or no less?"

"Bye!"

"Sam!" I hollered, groaning when I heard the other line go dead. "Damn it." I turned around and looked at Brad. "Dude, no napalm."

Brad scoffed. "Yeah, good luck talking the triplets out of it. Now pop that trunk so we can go inside, I am not getting a shitty bunk this year."

"Bunk?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, bunk! Don't be such a pansy, dude!"

I sighed, hitting the trunk button on my car and grabbing my duffel bag, following Brad up the stairs of his grandparents' creepy house. The door creaked open, and out walked a man with white hair that looked like a carbon copy of Brad's father, just older.

"Bradley!" he yelled.

"Grandpa!" Brad yelled back, throwing his arms around him. "How goes it...ohh!" Brad said, taking a step back and grimacing at bit. "Grandpa, it's three in the afternoon!"

"Single-malt, good for the immune system!" he responded. "Look at me, I'm strong as an ox! When are you gonna cut that hair, boy?"

Brad shrugged. "Grandpa, this is my friend Freddie. We live in the same apartment complex together."

"Pleased to meet you, Freddie," Brad's grandfather said, extending his hand and shaking mine.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Harrison. Thanks for having me."

"You can call me George," he replied. "Come on in, boys. You'd better pick a bunk before the triplets get here...oh and Jenna's going through a picketing phase, so watch your valuables."

Brad cleared his throat. "Grandpa, I think you mean pick-pocketing?"

"Oh, right, of course," he responded. "Anyway, she steals! And she's got a bunch of new silver things in her face!"

I looked over at Brad, concerned, and he shrugged. "My cousin. She's a goth."

Oh god. What the hell was I getting myself into? I followed Brad and his grandfather inside. Christ, it was a madhouse in here, there were kids EVERYWHERE!

"Yo, Heather!" Brad yelled at her as she ran by with two other girls her age. "You could say hi!"

Heather glared at him. "Why would I do that?" she replied, and then gave me a big smile. "Hi, Freddie! I like your shirt!" It wasn't lost on me the way she was staring at me, or the fact that the other two girls started giggling as they ran up the staircase.

"Uh, thanks?" I asked, looking over at Brad, and he grinned.

"Did I tell you my sister's in love with you?"

"Oh god, really?" I groaned. This was getting weirder and weirder.

"Yep. Let's go upstairs," Brad said, jerking me toward the staircase. I followed him up, and we walked down the hallway. This place seemed to be going on forever.

"Bradley!" a voice yelled.

"Uncle Lester! What up, man!" Brad yelled, hugging the very large man that had just come around the corner. Holy crap, he wasn't kidding! "This is Freddie."

"Hey Freddie!" Uncle Lester said, grabbing me into a bear hug. Oh god, I think the guy was trying to crush my spleen!

"Hi," I squeaked, and he pulled away, slapping me on the back.

"You guys go get a bunk, the triplets will be here soon, and then it's football time!"

"Hell yeah! But watch Jacob's ass, he cheats!" Brad told him, before turning back to me. "Come on, this way."

"Brad," I said, pulling him back. "Tell me something."

"Okay," he replied.

"There's a lot of big guys in your family," I commented.

"Yep," he replied. "Why?"

"Were they ALL in the military?"

"Every single one, why?"

"Yeah, I'm not playing football," I responded, and Brad huffed.

"Fine, make yourself a target!" he hollered, walking towards the back room.

"Target?" I asked, trying to keep up. "What does that mean? Brad? Brad!"

~*Sam*~

"Oh my god, I can't believe this!" Carly moaned as she leaned against the car.

I glared at Spencer who kept trying to start the car, which kept sputtering.

"Spencer, knock it off!" I yelled, reaching through the window to smack him. "You're gonna really screw the car up if you don't stop!"

"How far are we from Yakima?" April asked.

"Forty five minutes," Carly said with a groan. "Damn it, this sucks!"

I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I can't believe we'd broken down on the side of the road! Mercedes were touted as being the best of the best, well...best of the best my ass! We were still stranded!

"Let's just call a tow truck!" Spencer whined, opening his door, and I slammed it shut, glaring at him.

"Are you kidding me? You're a man! Men don't call for tows! Pop the hood!"

"Sam, I don't think that's such a good -"

"Shut up and pop the hood, girly-boy! What kind of man can't fix a car?" Spencer obeyed me, hitting the switch, and I lifted the hood, waving the smoke out of my face.

"Oh, jesus." I grunted. "Well, this is lovely."

"Since when do you know anything about cars, Sam?" Carly asked me, standing next to me and looking at the engine in a perplexed manner.

"Fiance number six of my mom's. The only one that didn't beat the shit out of me. He taught me a thing or two about cars. April, you got any water?"

"Yeah!" she said, getting out of the car. "It's really good, it's enhanced with minerals, and..."

"Yeah, I don't care about that, we need it for the radiator."

"What? But it's imported from Norway!" she protested, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, snobby foreign water for a snobby foreign car. Now get me the agua! I'm losing major patience right now!" I yelled. "This is bullshit!" I glared at Carly. "If you and Brad hadn't been so damn intent on proving me and Freddie wrong I'd be in bed with him right now, half unconscious from orgasm overload and watching movies with things that blow up!" I took a closer look at the engine, and growled loudly, stomping my foot.

"Damn it!" I hollered. "Fuck! This is bullshit!"

"What?" Carly asked, alarmed. "Here's the water, what's going on?"

I pointed at the engine. "That! Do you see that? Look!"

"Uh...yeah...oh it looks really bad," Carly said, and I gave her a Look.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"No, I really don't."

"Ugh, I swear. Spence, give me your belt!" I said, walking to the car and pulling out my bag, rifling through it.

"Sam, what are you...oh god why is there a knife in your purse?" Carly cried.

"Specifically for moments like these. Spencer, belt!"

"Why?"

"Do it!" I yelled. "I'm over this! I want to fix the damn car, get to damn Yakima, and get damn Thanksgiving over with, so I can get my damn money and get back to my damn husband!"

Everyone stared at me, looking a bit fearful, but I didn't care. I'd had it. I hadn't even been away from Freddie for two hours and I was ready to throw in the towel, but I couldn't even do that because we were stranded! Spencer finally pulled his belt off and handed it to me, and I sliced the buckle off.

"Thank you," I responded, pulling my sweatshirt off and walking back to the front of the car. I used my sweatshirt to twist off the radiator cap, then pulled off the broken fanbelt, tossing it on the ground.

"What is that?" Carly asked me.

"It's a fanbelt, and it's broken. I'm using it Spencer's belt, it should hold us until we can get into Yakima." I leaned my head around the open hood. "Spencer, turn on the engine!"

He did as he was told, and I picked up one of the liter bottles of water, pouring it into the radiator tank, then the other one, before putting the cap on and shutting the hood back down. "There, it's done."

"You fixed it?" Carly asked in amazement, and I rolled my eyes.

"That's the general definition of fixed, Carly. Now get in the car, I'm starving and that water's not gonna hold up forever!"

Carly sighed, stomping back to the car with me close behind her. I'd felt slightly bad I'd lost my cool on everyone, but only slightly. It was exactly as I suspected, Freddie was the only thing that kept me from getting pissed off. There was no way in hell I was going to make it.

I felt really bad for anyone who had to put up with me for the next four days.


	66. Chapter 66: Across the Universe

**A/N: No, I'm not dead, just had to take a little break from writing for a few days, have had some pretty ridiculous drama going on around these parts lately! I'm working on the next chapter right now, so it'll be up either late tonight or tomorrow!**

**Chapter Sixty Six:  
><strong>**Across the Universe**

~*Carly*~

"Is Sam still on the phone?" Spencer asked as we sat around the living room at granddad's house.

"Yep," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "She's been on the phone with him for like three hours."

Spencer rolled his eyes too. "I told you they weren't going to be able to make it."

I stood up suddenly. "I'll be right back." I walked out of the living room down the hallway to the guestroom Sam and I were to share, opening the door and sticking my head in. God. She was wearing Freddie's shirt, holding on to the stuffed bunny Freddie gave her, and talking on the phone to him. This was too much! "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you planning on getting off the phone anytime soon?"

She shrugged. "I dunno."

"Sam! You guys spend twenty four hours a day together, haven't you guys run out of things to talk about?" I asked. This was absolutely ridiculous. She'd spent the entire day since we got to Yakima texting him, until he was able to call her, and she'd been on the phone ever since. I was bored out of mind. April had spent most of the time in the bathroom, citing "food poisoning" in front of Granddad, but we all knew it was morning sickness. Why'd they call it morning sickness if it happened every moment of the day?

Spencer had spent the entire time we'd been here in deep conversation with Granddad about April being "the one" and how he wanted to marry her, but he was freaked out over the idea of marrying a rich girl when he was just an artist. Spencer did okay on his own selling his art, but it was nothing compared to the sort of money April's family had. He'd even been lamenting over not being able to buy her a nice enough ring. With Spencer and Granddad holed up with their heart-to-heart, April making very close friends with the toilet, and Sam superglued to her phone, I was so bored I couldn't stand it.

Sam sighed, glaring at me for my pointed, somewhat rude question, before returning to her conversation. "Baby, I'll call you back. I love you too. Bye." After she hung up, she looked up at me. "What's your deal, Carly?"

"My deal is that I'd like my best friend back!"

"What are you talking about? I'm still your best friend!"

"No, you're not. You've changed. A lot." I sat down on the bed next to her. "Look, I know that you and Freddie are in love, and I'm really happy for you, I am. But...you guys aren't Sam and Freddie anymore!"

Sam looked confused. "Then who are we?"

"You're not even two people anymore! You've officially morphed into Seddie!"

"A little dramatic much?" Sam responded. "You just don't get it."

"How do I not get it? We're both in relationships! I get that you love Freddie, but I love Brad, and my entire life doesn't revolve around him!" Okay, that was a little bit of a lie, Brad was a MAJOR part of my life, and heavily involved in all facets of it, so my life did kind of revolve around him, but we were handling the separation much better than Sam and Freddie.

"And my life doesn't revolve around Freddie, Freddie IS my life! Do you remember what my life was like before Freddie and I got together? All the stuff I had to deal with on a daily basis? Freddie changed all of that for me. I don't get hit! I don't get hurt! I don't have to worry about power being shut off because somebody forgot to pay the bill! My life is pretty stable for the most part. And I don't have to feel bad about myself anymore, he won't let me! He makes me feel wanted and needed at the same time, and I feel the same way about him. He is everything to me, I can't help it."

I shrugged. "Sam, I do get that, but you still have to be your own person!"

"And I am! I'm still Sam, just a better version of Sam. He makes me better, and he makes me want to be better. Nothing's going to change that, I'm sorry." She paused. "I miss him."

"I know you do, Sam. But the day's almost over, you only have three more," I replied. "And think about all the food you get to stuff your face with tomorrow!"

"Doesn't matter," she responded softly. "I miss Freddie."

"Sam!" I bounced up and down on the bed a little. "Come hang out with me! I'm bored out of my skull!"

"Well it's not like there's anything to do around here!" she responded. "It's so boring!"

"I know...but come on. Be a little social. We're all just sitting there...we could play cards or something..."

Sam's eyes lit up. "Cards?"

"Yeah, granddad's pretty good at poker..." I trailed off. "But we're not playing for money!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Fine. No money. But I'm gonna show that old man a thing or too."

"Put some pants on first."

"Well, duh." She sat up, scooting off the bed and grabbing a pair of sweats.

~*Freddie*~

"Where the hell are we going?" I asked Brad as we stumbled through the dark woods behind his grandparents' house. "Ah!"

"Watch your step," Brad responded with a roll of his eyes. "We're going to the spot."

"What's the spot?" I replied.

"The only place we can get away from our overbearing parents," Brad's cousin Jacob replied. "Dude, why do you role with this kid? He's a total pansy."

"I am not a pansy!" I responded indignantly.

"He's really not," Brad told Jacob. "He seems like it at first, but the kid can really kick some ass. I've seen him."

Jacob shrugged. "Guess you couldn't be too much of a bitch to have a smoking hot chick like Sam marry you." When I glared at him, he shrugged. "Yeah, you think me and my brothers watch your show because of the stunning comedy skills? Carly and Sam are hot! What I don't understand is why you let Brad over here join up with you guys, he's horrible with a camera."

"Hey, shut up!" Brad hollered. "I am not that bad!"

"Other than being able to make the whole feed shoot in black and white," I mused. "I couldn't even figure that one out on purpose!"

"Okay, let's all stop making fun of my cameraman skills. I told you, I'm an editor, not a cameraman."

"So when are we going to arrive at this spot?" I asked as I continued to stumble over branches.

"Not much longer," Brad replied. "It's really cool. We stumbled across it when we still in elementary school. Hey Jake, where's your stupid brothers?"

"Already there, I think. Starting the bonfire."

"You let those two idiots near fire without supervision?" Brad exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?"

Jacob shrugged. "Hey man, the real fun hasn't even started yet. I brought bottle rockets! You know what they say, it ain't Thanksgiving unless..."

"Somebody gets a permanent injury, yeah, I know!" Brad replied with a roll of his eyes.

Oh my god, the Harrison family was completely batshit insane. There were just too many kids, the youngest being Brad's little sister Leah and the oldest was Brad's cousin Kayla, who was eighteen. I was getting along with everyone okay, but they were just...crazy. Every single one of them, in different ways.

I'd tried to bow out of football, but I hadn't been able to get away with it, and I was pretty bad at it. I'd started catching a lot of shit from Brad's male family members, that is until I demonstrated my boxing skills on Brad's cousin Jason and managed to out push-up every guy there. That had shut them up a bit, but then I started getting lectures from the older family members about joining the military, which was apparently the set plan for every male child in the family. I felt kind of bad for them, but they seemed to go along with it for the most part, at least to the adults' faces. Whenever their backs were turned, though...those kids got into trouble, a LOT. I'd caught the little goth girl Jenna rifling through my duffel bag, and within ten minutes my issue with diabetes had become public knowledge to the entire Harrison family, sending Brad's grandma into a frenzy over redoing the entire Thanksgiving menu. Bryson and the two male cousins his age, Austin and Joshua, had disappeared for five hours during a game of hide and seek after failing to elect anyone as the seeker. Heather and the other girls her age had barged in on me while I was changing my clothes and spent the rest of the day giggling every time I walked by. And I'd nearly had a heart attack when the triplets had gotten ahold of my phone, narrowly getting it back before they stumbled across my photos of Sam...the sexy ones.

The weirdest part was every single one of Brad's cousins older than nine all watched iCarly, so they all knew who I was, they all knew who Sam was, and they all thought they KNEW about our relationship, just like pretty much every other person on earth who watched iCarly. It was definitely odd, and I was getting a little bit tired of explaining why I was hanging out with Brad instead of spending time with my wife. I'd tried to just go the path of complete avoidance, but Brad wasn't having it, and after I'd gotten off the phone with Sam, he and Jacob had dragged me off into the woods. I was honestly beginning to get a little afraid. A hidden spot in the woods they'd set up to get away from all their parents, who were by definition crazier than them? Bonfire? Bottle rockets? A family motto about injuries? Oh god!

"Alright, look straight ahead," Brad said, thumping me on the arm. "And pay attention. See the rope?"

"Uh...yeah..."

"Don't walk past the rope."

"Why?" I asked worriedly.

"There's a ten foot drop in front of it, that's why. Yo, Jake, demonstrate for Fredward here the proper way to get across."

"Wait, your way, or my way?"

"Well, you don't have the four wheeler at the moment, so yeah, my way!"

"Can't I just jump?"

"No!"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "God, you're such a buzzkill. Fine." With that, he walked over to the rope, grabbing onto it and swinging across before throwing the rope back across to Brad.

"Ready for this?" Brad asked me, and I shook my head.

"What is wrong with you guys?" I asked.

Brad shrugged. "We're by-products of a Marine family. Go figure. Now get your ass across!"

"You know Sam's going to kill you if I get hurt right?" I replied.

"Then don't fall!" Jacob shouted from the other side. "Come on, these bottle rockets aren't gonna blow up by themselves!"

"Well, actually, if the circumstances were right..." I began.

"Freddie!" Brad yelled. "Stop being a pussy!"

I grabbed the rope, rolling my eyes. "You know, I agreed to Thanksgiving, not basic training!"

"Duly noted, now hurry up."

For all my bitching and grumbling, it wasn't difficult to get across, but I was definitely a city person, I wasn't used to being out in the middle of nowhere in the Amityville Horror house surrounded by acres of woods and a bunch of kids who were completely out of control. I followed Jacob and Brad through the woods until we reached a clearing.

"Here we are!" Brad exclaimed, gesturing to a large patch of land that looked like an antique shop had thrown up on it. "What do you think?"

"What is all this stuff?" I asked.

"Just stuff we've found over the years, we got tired of sitting on the ground after about six months of hanging out here. Pretty sweet, right?" He didn't wait for an answer, just turned to survey the bonfire his triplet cousins were currently fussing over. "Looks pretty good, douchebags! Hey, wait! Don't that throw that can in there, it's -"

BOOM!

"Aerosol," Brad responded with a roll of his eyes. "Everyone alright?"

"We're good!" Jason yelled.

"Where's Kayla?"

"Eh," Jared replied. "Around somewhere."

As if on cue, a figure dropped out of the tree right in front of us, startling me, but annoying Brad.

"Dammit! Kayla! I told you to stop doing that, what are you a gorilla?"

"I think you have me confused with your mom," she replied with a roll of her eyes before looking at me. "Hey, Freddie," she said in a flirty voice.

"Kayla," Brad warned. "Leave that one alone! He's married!"

"Whatever, I still think it's a gag for the show!" Kayla replied, still looking at me. "You're really hot, you know that?"

"Uh...that's what my wife tells me. Every day. You know, because we're married. Happily. Happily married," I responded nervously. I didn't like the way this chick was looking at me, like she wanted to eat me alive. I only liked that look when it was coming from Sam!

"Me thinks thou doth protest too much," Kayla replied. Oh god, I was going to be forced to abandon the bet and leave if this chick didn't back off. I wanted no part of this. Even if a chick was throwing herself at me, I wouldn't ever cheat on Sam, number one, and number two, she looked like a female version of Brad, taller than me, skinny with the same hair and eye color as Brad. Too creepy.

"Ooh, looks like someone's been reading her Shakespeare Cliffs Notes!" Brad said. "Come on, Kayla, leave the boy alone. Aren't you supposed to be doing something right now?"

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Yeah..."

"Then get your ass back in the tree!" Brad hollered. Kayla glared at him.

"Just because your height has finally caught up with your mouth doesn't mean I can't kick your ass still," she responded.

"Tree. Now." Kayla said nothing, just grabbed onto a branch a few inches above her head and climbed the rest of the way up. "You'll have to excuse that one. She's a little aggressive."

"Your mom's aggressive!" she yelled from above us.

"Only because she learned it from your mom! And at least my mom's not the family drunk! She gives grandpa a run for his money!"

"At least my mom can run! Your mom's too sore from your dad going all whips and chains on her every night!"

"Kayla! Shut up!" Jared yelled into the tree. "You're going to give away our position!"

I looked over at Brad worriedly. "Position?"

"Yeah...see...Heather...and the other ones...you know, Autumn and Jenna and Kelly and Cadence...they stumbled across this place last year and have had their eye on it ever since. We have to be vigilant. Ever vigilant."

"Oh god, what did I get myself into, the War of the Roses?"

"This ain't about some frilly little flowers, man! This is serious shit!" Jacob hollered. I rolled my eyes.

"Jacob's the D student. Don't mind him," Brad said. "Okay, anyway...so...this is the place. What do you think?"

"Um, I'm a little terrified." That was an understatement. They were like a bunch of mini-Guerillas! Brad shrugged.

"Yeah, I've heard that before. But if you wanna know the truth..." Brad grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the tree Kayla was camped out in. "The girls lost interest in this place over the summer, we just haven't told Kayla yet. It's the only way we can keep her in the tree. She's annoying! Dude, just suffer with me, please! It's so hard to deal here! I just have to put up with it and try to make the best with these nutcases. I mean...I'M the normal one!"

"Yeah, I guess that is a scary thought..." I grinned when Brad punched me in the arm. "But dude! I'm really uncomfortable here. All your females relatives are just...I'm afraid of getting molested in my sleep!"

"Look, I apologized about Aunt Meredith, okay? She was drunk!"

"Well what about your sister? And Jungle Girl up there? And the rest of them! I can't do this! I gotta bail, man!"

"You just wanna get back to Sam," he responded with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, I do miss her, a lot. She's my girl, I'm not used to being without her. And I'm sorry, but...your family man. They're really weirding me out. But you're right, I do miss Sam a lot."

"Yeah, I miss Carly...but there's nothing we can do about it. And do you really wanna throw the bet, AND leave me here to deal with this shit alone?"

"Well, no, but..." I trailed off, my hand going to my chin. "Hey, how much trouble would you get in if you just bailed on Thanksgiving?"

"What, you mean if we left? Probably a nice grounding."

"Would your dad send you to military school over it?"

"Eh...it's a tough call," Brad replied. "He said no more fights, he didn't mention anything about abandoning family holidays. Overcrowded, annoying, drunken family holidays. And god, I don't want to go to mass! There's not enough time in the world to confess everything!"

"I'm not going to mass either," I replied. "No way. Are you sure your dad wouldn't freak?"

"Ninety percent sure. I've done worse. I'm sure he doesn't want a repeat of the turkey incident from last year anyway..."

I frowned. "Turkey incident?"

"Yeah. Grandma wanted me to stuff the turkey because she was a little busy, and I overstuffed it. It exploded all over Aunt Meredith. Classic, but man did I get in trouble for that one. But what about the bet?"

"We could call it a draw," I offered. "But will Carly go for it?"

"You want me to ask?" Brad responded, and I thought about it for a moment, before my eyes lit up.

"Yeah! But she can't tell Sam! I kinda wanna just show up and surprise her!"

Brad nodded. "Okay, so, we call the bet a draw, get the address from Carly, hop in the car, drive to Yakima, then what? Kidnap them?"

"Maybe," I replied with a shrug. "Let's just play that part by ear. But I'm really missing her, man! C'mon! Let's bounce!"

Brad nodded. "Okay, let's just get out of here before the triplets blow themselves up again."

BOOM!

"Too late," I responded with a grimace.

"Alright, well let's go," Brad replied.

"Dude, Jacob...or Jared...is just laying there. Should we check on him?" Brad and I stared at him for a second, before Brad was jerked out of his thoughts by his phone beeping. By the way he looked at it and smiled, I could tell it was from Carly.

"I'm sure he's fine," Brad responded.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

~*Brad*~

"Alright," I said to Freddie. "I got the address. But here's the thing. I didn't tell Carly we were making it a draw."

"Then what'd you do?" Freddie replied with a confused look.

"I told her you caved and I needed to address, but not to tell Sam because you wanted to surprise her. She's mad, but she agreed not to tell her."

"Wait, why is she mad?"

"She's bored out of her mind, and you taking Sam is gonna leave her even more bored," Brad responded. "So I'm not telling her I'm coming, I'm gonna surprise her the same way you're surprising Sam. Good?"

"Awesome," Freddie replied with a nod. "Let's get our stuff and get out of here!"

"One thing though...Yakima's two and a half hours from here!" I said with a grimace. "And it's already almost two. And we have to sneak out of here!"

"God," Freddie moaned. He sat on his bunk for a moment before standing up. "Okay, fuck it. I'm not waiting until morning, it'll be even harder to leave."

"Good point," I responded. "Okay, I'm gonna run re-con real quick, stay here and...wait why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, just your military speak. We gotta get you out of here, man. It's rubbing off on you."

"Your mom rubs off on me!" I replied with a roll of my eyes.

"Shut up! Don't talk about my mom like that!"

"My bad dude," I replied, before grinning. "What I meant to say was your mom rubs off on Dr. Robert."

Freddie glared at me. "See, talk like that makes me want to leave you here with the three unibombers and Uncle Fester."

"Lester!"

"Same thing," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "Go do your re-con thingie, and hurry up!"

"Make sure you dose yourself with your pen before we roll out," I reminded him, ignoring the Look he gave me. "Sorry dude, I promised Sam I'd stay on your ass about it." Without waiting for a response, I crept into the hallway. The triplets and Kayla still hadn't come back from the spot, but we'd have to creep past three more bedrooms on this floor, chocked full of cousins, plus the first level with grandma and grandpa sleeping. I hoped to god Grandpa wasn't having a late night meeting with Mr. Jack Daniels. Everything looked good, sounded good too, I could hear Uncle Lester's snores coming from the third floor. That would drown out quite a bit of noise. I turned around and headed back into the room.

"Alright, we're good!" I said in a loud whisper. "Hand me my duffel, let's get the fuck outta here!"

"You sure you wanna do this? Your dad's gonna go postal!" Freddie reminded me, and I shrugged.

"No more than the usual. If we leave now, we should be able to get to the girls before the sun comes up."

"And then what?"

"I told you, we'll play it by ear! Now get a move on!"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted to leave more than I do," Freddie said, amused.

"And you'd be right. I can't take it anymore!" I replied. Everyone was getting on my nerves even more than all the other years combined. I just couldn't pretend anymore. Everyone else, all my other cousins, seemed to be fine with going along with whatever plan their parents had picked out for their life, but I just couldn't do that. I was still so lost over the military academy thing. I didn't want to break a promise I'd made to my parents, but...this was my life! And being around my entire brainwashed family was just serving as a reminder to me that I was well on my way to ending up just like them, crazy and unhappy. I had to get out.

I grabbed Freddie's arm, jerking him toward the doorway. "Hurry up!"


	67. Chapter 67: Day Tripper

**A/N: Okay, kind of a short chapter, but I wanted the next series of events to have their own chapter and it just didn't seem to go with this one all that well. I meant to post this earlier, but babysitting four nieces and a nephew doesn't really provide much time for that! At least they're all iCarly fans though, and on that note...after watching the preview for next week's episode, I kinda wanna smack Carly upside the head!**

**Chapter Sixty Seven:  
><strong>**Day Tripper**

~*Carly*~

I was so pissed I couldn't even see straight.

I really thought that out of the two, Freddie would be the one able to hold out, but I guess I was wrong, he'd caved first. Sam missed him, sure, but she seemed to be surviving. Freddie couldn't even hold out twenty four hours! I couldn't tell if he was just that weak without her, or just horny, but either way it was supremely annoying. I didn't even care about the money anymore! I was actually enjoying it just being me and Sam, the way we used to be, before we got all bogged down in romantic stuff. I loved Brad, but Sam was my BEST FRIEND, and I missed the way it was.

To make matters worse, I was supposed to be the one waiting up for Freddie to call me or text me or whatever, and it was almost four thirty in the morning! Sam had crashed out over three hours ago! I was supposed to forgo sleep just because Freddie wanted to surprise her? This was complete and total BS! He'd better be showing up with money in hand, because I was PISSED.

BEEP!

I looked down at my phone. Text message from Freddie. Rolling my eyes, I opened the message to read it.

Freddie: I'm here. Let me in.

I almost wanted to ignore the text and go to bed, but he'd still be out there in the morning, or worse, he'd start pounding on the door. I pulled myself off the couch and trudged over to the door, unlocking it and yanking it open to reveal Freddie.

"Hey," he said. "How's it going?"

"How do you think?" I replied with a glare. "I'm exhausted, and you're snatching away my best friend because you have separation anxiety! Now I get left alone for the most boring Thanksgiving ever!"

"Well, I'd take boring over what I left at Brad's any day," he replied, glaring back at me. "Calm down, Carly. Anyway, I brought you something."

"It better be twenty five hundred bucks!" I replied, sighing in frustration when Freddie shook his head.

"Might be worth more than that to you though," he replied.

"Yeah, I think I'd prefer the cash!" I replied rudely. A moment later, my eyes widened and my hand flew to my mouth, gasping.

"You sure about that?" Brad asked as he appeared in front of the door.

"Oh my god!" I said, stepping outside and throwing my arms around him.

"I'm not worth twenty five hundred, Shay?" he teased before kissing me.

"Oh my god, BOTH of you ditched?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah, we both caved, so we called it a draw," Brad replied. "Miss me?"

"You have no idea," I responded before kissing him again.

"Hey, Carly? Where's Sam?" Freddie asked.

"She's asleep," I said after I'd pulled away from Brad's lips. "Want me to wake her up?"

"Nah, I'll do it. Which bedroom is it?"

"The one across from the bedroom, at the end of the hall. You guys CANNOT have sex in there though, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," he replied.

"So...what are we doing? Are we bouncing out of here, or..."

"We haven't really figured that part out yet," Brad replied. "My family was just driving me nuts. And the ladies wouldn't leave Freddie alone."

"Seriously? Freddie?" I replied.

"I'm standing right here, Carly, Jesus!" Freddie responded. "I'm gonna get Sam, I'll be right back."

I didn't respond, just hugged Brad again, going back to kissing him. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him until he was standing here in front of me, and now it was all coming back to me in a flood of emotions. God, I loved him so much.

So maybe Freddie and Sam weren't the only weak ones.

~*Sam*~

Sleeping without Freddie was really hard. After months of falling asleep in his arms or with my head on his chest, I'd gotten used to it, and I had to say, I didn't like being without it. There was nothing that could possibly replicate the feel of his strong arms, the sound of his heartbeat, the warmth of his skin. Oh my god. I missed him so much. It'd taken me forever to go to sleep.

I was brought out of my fitful slumber when I felt the bed shift and then an arm thrown over me. Oh god, really?

"Carly," I groaned. "I know you said Brad has a thing about lesbians, but A, he's not here, and B, I don't. No offense, but I don't want to snuggle with a chick."

"Would you settle for me instead?" I heard a voice whisper into my ear, the breath tickling my ear. I froze, and my eyes popped open. I knew that voice! I knew those arms! I turned over immediately, and I was staring into the most beautiful brown eyes in existence. Oh, god.

"Freddie..." I trailed off, before throwing my arms around him and kissing him fiercely. "Oh my god...am I dreaming?"

"Nope," he replied, stroking my hair. "Hey, baby."

"Hey," I responded softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh nothing," he said. "Thought I'd stop by."

I gave him a Look. "You caved."

He nodded. "Yeah. I did."

I kissed him. "I'm glad."

"Me too. But for the record, Brad caved too."

"So...the bet?" I asked.

"We called it a draw. But I wouldn't have cared. You're worth way more than twenty five hundred bucks." he responded, continuing to play with my hair and stare at me.

"So how much am I worth to you?" I teased.

Freddie laughed a little bit. "There's not enough money in the world to make me give you up."

I sighed, pulling him closer to me and burying my face in his neck. "I love you," I whispered.

"Love you too, my sweet, sweet baby," he responded. Ugh, my heart melted every time he called me that. I'd never get sick of him calling me that. Not even when I get to be eighty years old.

"Baby, I think we have a problem," I murmured in his ear. He pulled away, looking at me quizzically.

"What problem?"

"We only made it twenty four hours," I replied with a smile. He laughed, kissing me.

"I'm completely addicted to you, Sam. I never ever want to recover from it."

I nodded, biting my bottom lip. "Me either. So now what?"

Freddie shrugged. "Dunno."

"Have you been up all night?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Then just lay with me."

"Don't you think Carly's grandfather would freak out a little bit?"

I shook my head. "He knows we're married. Carly and Brad can take the couch."

Freddie made a face. "Hold on a sec." He got out of bed and walked to the window, looking out of it for a second, before laughing and laying back down.

"What?"

"They're definitely not on the couch. They took the backseat."

"Wow, that car's been getting a lot of action lately," I commented. "Just go to sleep, baby. I don't want you to be grumpy in the morning."

"Still kind of weirded out being in Carly's grandfather's house. But I'm way too tired to drive."

"Well, stop being weirded out," I replied. "Just relax." My hands went to the bottom of his shirt, trying to pull it off him.

"Sam," he said, trying to push my hands away. "We can't have sex here."

"I know," I replied, finally getting his shirt off. "I just wanna feel your skin." I ran my hands up and down his back, and he sighed happily, his face going into that spot he liked where my neck met my shoulder.

"I missed this," he murmured against my skin.

"Me too."

"We're pathetic."

"I know." I kept rubbing his back, doing it as much for me as I was for him. I'd never get tired of the way his skin felt. "I don't ever want to be away from you again."

Freddie lifted his head to kiss me, softly at first, then deepening the kiss, his hand going to the back of my head to keep me steady. "You won't," he said softly, before laying his head back down.

It had taken me two hours to fall asleep without Freddie next to me. But now that he was here, we were both out within minutes. It was perfect. We were perfect.

~*Brad*~

I swear to god, Carly and I were starting to turn into Sam and Freddie, the way we couldn't keep our hands off each other. As soon as Freddie had disappeared into the guest room to wake Sam up, Carly and I had snuck into the backseat of Freddie's car and got better reacquainted. I kind of felt bad for doing it in Freddie's car, but oh well, too late to take it back now, I'd pay for the detailing bill. Afterwards, we'd come back inside and crashed on the couch for a little while, only to be woken up by Spencer.

"Are you guys nuts?" he hissed after he'd shaken us awake. "Granddad's gonna freak!"

"We weren't doing anything!" Carly said defensively. "Just sleep!"

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, Freddie caved, right?"

"Yep," Carly replied, sitting up and yawning. "You know those two can't handle being apart."

"They have major dependency issues," Spencer replied. "Anyway, this is gonna take some major explaining to Granddad."

My phone rang suddenly, and I looked down at the caller ID, groaning. It was my dad.

"He may not have to," I said, gesturing to my phone. "I'd better take this outside." I stood up and walked out the front door, shutting it behind me and sitting down on the porch steps, before answering. "Hello?"

"If you two boys don't get your asses back here right now!" my dad growled. "Have you lost your damn minds? You do not walk out on Thanksgiving! Do you want your grandmother to cry again?"

"Dad, chill out! Freddie was really missing Sam, that's all!"

"Oh, don't act like you weren't missing Carly! I know the both of you had an equal hand in this! Now get your asses back here!"

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, it took hours to get him away from Sam the first time, you really think Freddie's going to leave her again? I'm stuck here, sorry!"

I heard my dad growl through the phone, before sighing. "Okay, fine. Bring her too. And you may as well bring Carly as well."

I did a double take. "Dad, have you and grandpa been drinking already?"

"You want me to rethink this?" my dad snapped. "You're lucky I'm being so damn understanding! Now put those girls in the car and get back here! You have three hours to get your ass back to Tacoma, and if you don't show up, your ass is mine!"

Click.

"Dad? Dad?" I looked at the phone in shock when I realized the line was dead. Had my father, Detective Hard Ass, Officer Impossible actually told me to bring my girlfriend to a family holiday? That had never happened before! Briefly I wondered if the triplets were good at disguising their voice, but that was just too advanced for the likes of those three.

This didn't seem like a very good idea to me. Bringing Freddie's wife around a bunch of my female relatives who obviously had the hots for him. Bringing Carly around my horny male cousins and uncles. This was a bad idea.

The door opened suddenly, and Carly came out, sitting down next to me. "Everything okay? Are you in trouble?"

"Um, if I don't get back in three hours I am."

Carly rolled her eyes. "You're never going to be able to convince Freddie to leave Sam again."

"I know. I told my dad that," I said. I paused. "Which is why he told me, and I quote, 'Put those girls in the car right now and get your asses to Tacoma.' Seriously."

"Wait, girls?" she replied. "Like, plural?"

"Uh-huh," I responded. "Whaddya say? Wanna meet my crazy relatives?"

"Are you sure it's a good idea to take Sam if your female relatives are all over Freddie like you say they are?"

"I don't know, Carly, but I'm really low on options," I replied. "I don't really know what else to do."

Carly was silent for a moment. "Okay. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please don't ask me that." I stood up, offering my hand to her, before pulling her to her feet. "Go wake them up, get your stuff, tell Freddie what's going on."

"Okay," she replied, before walking to the door. She stopped and turned to look at me. "Brad?"

"Yeah?"

"This is the weirdest Thanksgiving ever."

I laughed. "I think you're saying that a little prematurely. You haven't met the Harrison family yet. Come on, we gotta haul ass."

"Oh god," she whined, before dragging herself back inside.

After Carly had managed to wake up Sam and Freddie, the four of us stood in the driveway so as not to wake up Carly's grandfather and April, and began arguing.

"Dude, my dad's gonna kill us if we don't go back, like NOW!" I yelled at Freddie, who shook his head fervently.

"No way man. I used to think it was physically impossible for a dude to get raped by a woman, but after dealing the women in your family, I'm not so sure anymore! And the triplets! They're gonna end up killing someone, and I don't want it to be me or Sam!"

"Dude, it'll be fine!"

"Do you really want to bring Carly and Sam around your cousins? Who were going on and on about how hot they are?"

I snorted. "Dude, it's fine. They ain't got shit on me, I'm not worried about anyone scooping up Carly. And Sam over here is inexplicably nuts about you, so...OW!" I hollered, clutching my stomach where Sam had smacked me. "What the hell?"

"Inexplicably?" Sam replied. "Seriously? Let's make a list! He's the smartest person I've ever met, he turned my entire life around, he's sweet, he's gorgeous, and his dick is mrrrphhhpphhh!" she mumbled the last part as Freddie's hand clapped over her mouth.

"Sam, what'd I tell you about that?" he growled at her.

"Mmhhh mhhhh gmmffhh!" she mumbled against his hand.

"You gonna stop?" he replied. When she nodded, he removed his hand, and she suddenly ran behind Carly.

"It's huge!" she yelled over Carly's shoulder. "And the boy knows how to use it!"

"Dammit, Sam!" Freddie yelled, turning a little red.

"Okay, Sam, we get it, Freddie's wonderful," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "Can we get back to the real issue?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea for me OR the girls to go," Freddie replied.

"Okay, if the decision involves us, don't you think we should have a say?" Carly asked. I nodded.

"You're right, go ahead."

"I'm a little curious. Sam?" Carly asked.

Sam stared at me and Freddie with a serious expression. "Okay, let me get this straight. Alcoholics?"

"Yep."

"Pyromaniacs?"

"Yep."

"Football?"

"Uh-huh."

"And a big creepy house?"

"Yeah..." I trailed off.

"Is the potato gun issue still on the table?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose..." I trailed off.

Sam continued to stare at me, before a grin spread across her face and she slapped me on the back.

"What the hell are we waiting for? That sounds like a good ol' time to me! Baby, come on! It'll be fun!" she whined to Freddie.

"Of course it sounds fun to Sam," Freddie grumbled. "Fine, I'm not in the mood to argue. But I'm also not in the mood to drive. Carly, Brad, one of you has to drive."

Carly and I both shrugged. "Fine."

"We're so calling the backseat then," Freddie replied, before popping the trunk and throwing Sam and Carly's bags inside, slamming the trunk shut and dragging Sam towards the car.

"Yeah, you're not having sex while we're driving, Freddie," Carly replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Who said anything about sex? I'm exhausted!" Freddie said. "I wanna sleep." He yawned.

"Did you dose up?" Sam asked him.

"Yeah, while you were in the bathroom," he replied. "I'm good, baby."

"Just checking," she responded softly before kissing him. "You can stretch out in the backseat, put your head in my lap."

"And you guys try to tone down the lovey-doveyness at my grandparents, you'll be sitting ducks if you don't!" I called to them. Sam turned around and glared at me.

"Hi, have we MET?" she replied. "I got this."

"You don't know my family, Sam," I responded.

"I think I can handle it," she responded with a roll of her eyes. "Now hurry up. Every minute we stay in this driveway puts me one minute farther away from the potato gun."

"Wait!" Carly said. "I wanna discuss the whole bet thing."

Freddie groaned. "Carly, we told you, we called it a draw! Everyone keeps their own money!"

"Or..." Carly trailed off, and we all stared at her.

"Or what?" I asked. "There's not much we can do. Freddie and I BOTH caved."

"Yeah I know," she replied softly. "I was just thinking...Spencer doesn't have the money to get April a ring. Not one he'd be comfortable giving to her."

"So...are you getting at what I think you're getting at?" Sam asked, and Carly nodded.

"Let's give the money to Spencer. Like...all the money."

"The entire ten grand?" Freddie exclaimed. "For a ring? Sam's ring isn't even worth ten grand."

"What about five?" Sam asked, and Carly nodded.

"Yeah, five's good."

"You wanna give your brother five grand, Carly?" I exclaimed. "We already paid for the damages from the party!"

"Yeah, but...come on. He loves her. And they're having a baby. I mean...Sam. Help me."

"You guys are forgetting what happened over the summer," she said quietly, looking at the ground. "If he hadn't gotten to me, I'd be dead right now. I owe him so much. Way more than five grand."

"Shit," Freddie said. "I didn't even think about that, but you're right. I owe him too. I would have lost you if he hadn't done what he did."

We all stood there silently for a moment, staring at each other.

"Okay," I finally said. "We'll give the money to Spencer."

Carly hugged me tightly before kissing me. "Thank you," she said simply. "So we'll get it to him on Monday?"

"Yep," Freddie responded. "I'll take care of it."

"Okay," Carly replied. "I'm gonna go tell Spencer we're leaving, and explain a few things to Granddad, then we'd better get a move on."

"Ugh," I whined, dragging myself to the car. "Why do I feel like this is going to be a total disaster?"


	68. Chapter 68: Nowhere Man

**A/N: Look at that, an update before the sun goes down! Working on the next chapter now, also if you haven't done so already, there's a new story I have posted called "2,000 Lightyears From Home", another Seddie fic, check it out if you'd like. Only one chapter so far, second chapter coming tonight. Gonna make every effort to get the next chapter of this one posted today as well!**

**Chapter Sixty Eight:  
>Nowhere Man<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"Are you insane? Chicks can't play football!"

I groaned as I watched Sam whirl around to glare at Brad's cousin Jared.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" she hissed, taking a step towards him. I guess the triplets were about to be downgraded to twins, because Sam was about to kill that kid.

"I said chicks can't play football! They can't run, they can't catch, and they can't throw."

"Jared!" Brad yelled. "Careful man. Do not let her size fool you. She will slaughter you!"

"Oh come on!" Jared yelled back. "I am not scared of her. I'm just being honest."

"What's your name again?" Sam asked, looking him up and down carefully.

"Jared," he replied.

"Sorry, can't keep you three apart," she responded. I had to laugh at that; I'm sure they got that all the time, but it was even funnier coming from Sam, who had an identical twin of her own. I watched Sam grab an empty soda can off the front porch and hand it to Jared. "See that tree over there? Stand right in front of it. I can knock this can off your head from where I stand right now."

"Bullshit," Jared responded, laughing a bit.

"Well, if you're too scared," Sam replied. I shook my head, rolling my eyes and laughing a bit. When it came to getting people riled up, Sam was a genius. She knew exactly where to hit people and how hard to get them to do whatever she wanted them to. She was even guilty of using it on me, though I was finally beginning to wise up to her tricks. Jared rolled his eyes before walking back to the tree on the other side of the yard, balancing the soda can on his head, and Sam turned to Brad.

"Toss me the ball," she said. Brad threw it to her and she caught it perfectly, before turning back around and firing it at Jared's head. It missed the can entirely, instead planting itself square in the middle of Jared's face, right between the eyes. He fell to the ground, hollering.

"Aaah!" he yelled, curling into the fetal position and grabbing his face. "See? I told you! You can't throw for shit! You totally missed!"

"No I didn't," she responded with a grin. "Come on, get up!" She turned her back on his, walking over to me. "You gonna play, baby?"

"Uh..." I trailed off uncomfortably. "I don't think that's such a good idea, you know I'm not the most athletically inclined person, Sam."

She shrugged. "Come on, you can handle it. Play on Brad's team."

"Wait, you don't want us to play on the same side?" I asked, confused. She shook her head, grinning.

"You're not supposed to tackle your own teammates, nub. What's wrong? Skurred?"

I rolled my eyes. "No."

"Good," she responded before whacking me on the butt. "And it's football, that means I'm allowed to do that!"

"Oh really? Is that how it works?" I responded.

"Mmmhmm," she replied. "Come on, man up and play." I waited for her to brush by me before turning around and smacking her on her perfectly shaped ass, grinning when she yelped in alarm.

"Hey!" she yelled, turning around to glare at me. I shrugged.

"It's football. That means I'm allowed to do that," I responded with a grin. She just grinned back, shaking her head a little bit.

"Just wait until we get back to Seattle. You're a dead man," she replied.

"I look forward to it, baby," I responded.

"You guys gonna play or mentally undress each other all day?" Brad yelled from the other side of the yard. I glared at him, and he shrugged.

"Okay, you guys can have the guy still laying in the grass, I call Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber over here!" she yelled, gesturing to Jacob and Jason.

"Dude, she's feisty as hell!" Jason commented, and I shrugged.

"Yeah."

"You got your hands full, dude." Jacob added, and I heard Sam growl.

"I wish people would stop saying that!"

It was definitely a little bit easier being here with Sam around. The female relatives had backed off me a little bit. At first they were still leering at me constantly, but a few threatening glares from Sam shut them right up. The only one Sam hadn't come down on was Brad's little sister. I considered Heather to be a little bit of a brat, spoiled, conniving, and manipulative, but Sam got a real kick out of her and the two of them had already pulled a few priceless pranks on Brad. Sam had managed to get on everyone's good side, but Carly and I were a little bit out of our element. I guess Brad and Sam both had the crazy family thing in common, even though Brad's family was huge and Sam's wasn't. I could tell she was enjoying herself, she thrived on the chaotic and unpredictable, on the other hand, I preferred stability. We balanced each other out quite well; I forced her to calm down and allow a little normality to permeate our lives, and she kept me on my toes.

Of course, at the moment, she was keeping me on my back, tackling me to the ground every chance she could get, ignoring Jacob and Jason yelling at her the entire time for not following the plays. She was just enjoying being on top of me, and I had to be honest, I enjoyed it quite a bit myself, but I still wanted to drag her away and let her tackle me without any clothes on, and then do the same to her. I wasn't TRYING to keep track, but yeah...it'd been two days since we'd have sex, and I was starting to go a little crazy because of it. But we were surrounded by people, there was no way in hell we'd be able to get any privacy for more than five minutes, and I needed a lot more than five minutes alone with her. We'd both kind of accepted we wouldn't be able to really be intimate until we got back to Seattle, but then...oh god. We'd probably kill each other. I'd heard stories about things being really intense with new couples for awhile and then kind of sloping off after a few months...well, we were almost at five months and things were still just as intense between us as the night we'd gotten married, possibly moreso. I definitely wasn't complaining though, I didn't EVER want things to slow down.

Eventually the football game died down because everyone got tired of me and Sam constantly tackling each other and doing nothing else, but Sam had proved her point about being able to run, throw, and take hits just as well as a man could, and that's all she was really after.

Carly and Brad had run off to do something, along with the triplets, leaving me and Sam alone.

"Wanna go for a walk?" I asked, taking her hand.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," she replied. "There's tons of woods around here. I like the woods."

"Would you ever live somewhere like this?" I asked as we found a path and began walking along it. She shrugged.

"Maybe. I like their house. It's not creepy, just old."

"It's a little creepy," I replied. "But yeah, very old. Brad said it was built in like 1912 or something."

"Pretty cool. Isn't that the same year the Titanic sank?"

I gaped at her. "Whoa. Someone's been paying attention to her history lessons."

She just smiled. "Well, I wasn't kidding when I said I was gonna stomp your ass in this school thing. And I like history. It's kind of cool."

I wrinkled my nose. "Not really my thing."

"Yeah, I know," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "Math and Science all the way, huh?"

"Yup," I said. She just stared at me for a moment. "What?"

"Nothing," she responded. "We're so different, you know that?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. Does it bother you?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. I think we balance each other out pretty good." With that, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. "And I'm absolutely crazy about you."

"Makes two of us," I replied with a grin.

"Man, these woods are so thick," she commented. "I hope we don't get lost."

"Eh, we'll be fine. I have an excellent sense of direction."

She rolled her eyes. "You're so arrogant. Nub."

"Brat," I replied with a grin, poking her in the stomach.

"Ah!" she squeaked, taking a step back. "Hey, see that clearing over there?"

"Yeah," I responded. "Why?"

"Race you!" she replied before tearing off running.

"We didn't say go!" I yelled, trying to catch up.

~*Carly*~

God this house was ridiculous! I could navigate the streets of Seattle better than this maze they called a home! I stumbled down the hallway. Was I on the third floor, or the second floor? I looked up. God, there was ANOTHER floor! This place was amazing, and creepy at the same time. Amazingly creepy. Creepily amazing. I was NEVER going to find Sam and Freddie! They'd swore they wouldn't start getting it on at Brad's grandparents' house, but I was still willing to bet money they were holed up in some obscure corner of the house somewhere, breaking their promise like crazy.

"Are they up there?" Brad yelled up at me. I leaned over the banister, looking down at him.

"No! Are they down there?"

"Why would I ask you that if they were down here?" Brad responded. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, what floor am I on?"

"The third," he responded. "Come down, we gotta find those two!"

I shrugged, heading for the stairs and coming down them quickly until I was face to face with Brad. "Are Bryson and Austin still missing?'

Brad nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not as concerned about those two."

"But they're little kids!" I responded.

"Yeah but number one, those two know the house. Number two, they're not gonna start having sex somewhere. At least I hope not. Come on, maybe they're outside, I didn't even think about checking the greenhouse yet. We have two hours to find them before dinner, or my dad's gonna start yelling."

Right at that second, Brad's grandfather came up the stairs, stumbling a bit.

"Jared!" he yelled, and Brad rolled his eyes.

"Bradley?" he replied, and his grandfather nodded.

"Right. Sorry, hard to keep you kids straight. Find your friends yet?"

Brad shook his head. "About to go check the greenhouse."

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about it, son. They're probably just doing the hibbity-dibbity."

"The what?" I exclaimed. Oh my god!

Brad laughed. "Grandpa, you're such a pervert!"

"That's what your grandmother says," he said with a wink. "Have you seen your Uncle?"

"Which one?"

"Phillip."

Brad shook his head. "Nope, sorry grandpa."

"You see that bastard, you tell him I want my scotch back!"

"I'll do it, grandpa," Brad responded. "But maybe go a little easy on the booze today?"

"Why on earth would I do that?" he replied. "It's the holidays!"

"But, grandpa..." Brad responded, trailing off. "You always drink."

"And every day's a holiday somewhere!" his grandfather responded. "Good luck finding your friends."

"Yeah, we're gonna need it," Brad muttered to me. "Come on, let's go. Greenhouse." He took my hand and began leading me down the stairs.

~*Sam*~

"We are definitely lost!" I called down to Freddie from the tree I was in. He looked up at me, pacing back and forth nervously.

"Baby, be careful up there! I should be the one up there, not you!"

"I'm fine!" I called. "I'm way better at climbing than you are anyway. Okay, all I see is more woods! I dunno which way to go."

"If we keep going, we're either gonna hit ocean or city."

"Or Canadians," I replied. "How many times did we get turned around?"

"I don't know," he gruffed. "Dammit, I knew I should have downloaded that compass app."

"Yeah...but at least you have the Banjo Hero app!" I called down, glaring at him. He glared right back.

"Guilt trips are not going to help us right now, Sam!"

I shrugged, climbing up higher. "I'm gonna try and get to the top, might be easier to see."

"Baby, please be careful!" he pleaded from the ground.

"Freddie, I'm fine!" I yelled. At that moment, I lost my footing and slipped, hanging onto the tree limb with both arms for dear life. "Aaah!"

"Sam!" he yelled. "Oh god!"

I swung forward a little bit until my feet hit a branch, steadying myself. "I'm okay."

"Get down, now!" he yelled. "You're gonna break your neck and we're lost! That is a terrifying combination to me!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" I snapped, annoyed. I'd done way more dangerous stuff in my life than climb twenty feet up a tree, he was starting to get on my nerves.

"Baby, please!" Freddie pleaded. "You're making me really nervous!"

"Freddie!" I yelled at him. "For the last damn time..." I trailed off as I felt the branch I was standing on begin to give a little bit, hearing a slight cracking noise. Oh, shit. This wasn't good. "Okay, this is gonna break!"

"Get your ass out of that tree! Now!"

Crack. The branch broke off completely, leaving me dangling from the branch I was holding onto. I looked around fearfully. There wasn't another one I could grab onto. God, why me?

"Sam!" Freddie yelled, beginning to panic. "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god."

I looked down at him, trying to hold onto the branch, which was also beginning to give a bit. "Freddie?"

"What?" he asked, still panicking.

"You know how you can't catch for shit?"

"What does have to do with anything?" he asked. "This is so bad!"

"Do not miss this time!" I yelled. "I'm gonna let go!"

"What? Let go? Sam!"

"Just catch me!" I said, trying to remain calm. If I started to freak out, Freddie would freak out even more. "Calm down."

Freddie took deep breaths, trying to steady himself, looking up at me. "Okay."

"I'm gonna let go now. Just catch me."

"Okay. I'm gonna try."

"There is no try! Only do!"

"This is no time for Yoda quotes!" he hollered up at me.

"Okay, shut up! Count of three, okay?"

"Yeah."

"One...two..." I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. He was either going to catch me, or I'd end up with a broken leg...or a broken neck. "Three!" With that, I let go and plummeted straight down, narrowly avoiding hitting a few branches. "Aaah!"

"Shit!" Freddie yelled, leaping forward and catching me in his arms. Wow, NICE! I just stared him for a moment.

"Nice catch," I said, a serious expression on my face.

"Thanks," he responded, an equally serious expression on his. We stared at each other for a few moments, and I was still in his arms.

In an instant, he had let my legs hit the ground, before wrapping his arms around me, kissing me passionately, backing us up until my back hit the tree. I moaned softly as I wrapped my arms around his neck, grinding into him. There's something about falling twenty feet and then being caught without getting hurt that was quite a turn-on, I had to admit.

Freddie rested one hand against the tree, the other still around my neck, kissing me fiercely. He broke the kiss to trail his mouth down to my neck, and I gasped, arching into him a bit.

"Are we gonna do it in the middle of the woods?" I asked, moaning a little. He paused for a second, before groaning and pulling away.

"It's a little cold out here," he responded. I nodded.

"We really gotta figure out how to get back. Before you have to dose up again. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he responded. "Other than all the blood has left my brain and moved further down south suddenly." I grinned, reaching down to give his package a quick squeeze.

"Alright, we gotta think about this logically," I said. "There's no reception on our phones so it's not like we can call Brad."

"Why does it have to be so damn cloudy today?" Freddie grunted. "I can't even see the damn sun."

I sighed. "I dunno. Let's start walking."

~*Brad*~

"Okay, they are not anywhere in the house or the yard," I said as we walked out of the greenhouse. "And Freddie's car is still here, so it's not like they ditched."

"What if they went for a walk, and like...got lost?"

I froze. "Shit. They've been missing for awhile..."

"Yeah..." Carly trailed off, and then her eyes widened. "Hey, Brad? What are the chances that they actually did go for a walk, and Freddie remembered to take one of his pens?"

We both stared at each other for a second.

"Okay," I said. "Let's go grab one of those, and then we gotta find them. Now."

"Yeah," she replied. "Wait here! I'll go get it!" She stopped suddenly. "Are they staying on the second floor or the third floor? This house is too damn big!"

"Third. Now go! Hurry up!"

Shit. This was so bad. If those two did get lost and Freddie's insulin levels plummeted, they'd be in big trouble. I knew how easy it was to get lost in those woods, I'd done it myself quite a few times over the years, but I didn't have a raging case of diabetes. This was so, so bad.

Carly came running out of the house a few minutes later, and we both took off in the direction of one of the paths, neither one of us speaking a word.

"Freddie!" Carly yelled frantically. "Sam!"

~*Freddie*~

"How you holding up, baby?" Sam asked me as we trudged through the woods.

I shrugged. "My head hurts." Sam looked at me with a worried expression.

"This was a bad idea," she said softly.

"Yeah, I know," I replied. First Sam had fallen out of a tree and would have gotten seriously hurt if I hadn't caught her, now we were lost in the woods and I was getting very close to needing another shot. If I passed out, Sam wouldn't be able to do anything to help me. This wasn't going the way it was supposed to.

She stopped in her tracks, looking around worriedly. "This seems a little familiar...but I don't know if we're going the right way or not."

"Yeah, I dunno either," I replied, sitting down. Sam whirled around, dropping to her knees in front of me.

"Baby?"

"Feeling a little dizzy."

"Oh, god..." Her hands went to my face, rubbing my temples a bit, trying to alleviate my headache. "Can you walk?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe I just need to rest for a second."

She shook her head. "We can't do that. Every second we waste..." she trailed off, and I knew what she was getting at.

"Sorry, baby..." I said weakly.

"It's not your fault." She kissed my forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too," I replied.

Sam stood up and pulled her phone out of her pocket, holding it up and trying to catch a signal. "Damn it!" she cried. "This is bullshit!" She stood there for a second, before looking off in the distance. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I replied, resting my head on my knees. My brain was beginning to get a little foggy.

"Sounded like..." she trailed off, listening again. I heard whatever she was listening for that time too, though I couldn't make it out. "Oh my god! That's Carly!"

"No, it can't be."

"It is!" Sam said. "CARLY!"

Silence. I sighed.

"See, Sam, it's nothing, it's..."

"SAM?"

"CARLY!" Sam yelled back. "Over here!"

"Sam..." I said softly, and she looked over at me, a worried expression on her face.

"Baby?"

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to walk."

She sighed, sitting down next to me. "Lay down. Put your head in my lap."

I didn't respond, just did what she told me to. I looked up at her, and she just bent down to kiss me.

"It's okay, baby. It's okay."

I nodded, closing my eyes, only to have Sam shake me a little.

"Nope," she replied. "I'm afraid you won't wake back up."

"I can't help it."

"Just try, baby," she replied. "CARLY! Hurry up!"

That was the last thing I remembered before closing my eyes again.

~*Carly*~

I was running through the woods as fast as my legs could carry me, in the direction of Sam's voice. I knew by the way she was yelling at me that something was wrong, very wrong. Brad was only a few feet behind me.

"Come on!" I yelled at him.

"CARLY!"

"I'm coming Sam!" I called.

"Something's wrong, I only hear Sam, not Freddie," Brad said, panting a little as we continued running.

"Yeah, no shit, so run faster!" I yelled.

"CARLY!"

She didn't sound far at all now. Maybe fifty feet away.

I was scared shitless. What if Freddie had passed out? How long had he passed out for? He could only be down for about fifteen minutes before he needed medical attention! Thank god Brad had remembered about his insulin, because I would have just taken off into the woods without it. Brad was a lot better at handling situations under pressure than Sam or I, so I was so glad he was here.

"There!" Brad pointed. I followed the direction of where he'd gestured to, and I took a deep breath. There was Sam, sitting on the ground, but Freddie was just stretched out on the ground. He looked completely out of it. Sam looked up, spotting us.

"Carly!" she yelled helplessly.

"Sam!" I cried, running over to her and dropping to my knees. "How long has he been down?"

"I dunno, three minutes?"

"Here!" I said, pulling the insulin pen out of my pocket. She looked at me, surprised.

"You remembered?"

"Of course we did!" Brad said. Brad snatched the pen out of my hands, pulling the cap off and yanking Freddie's shirt up, before sticking the pen into his stomach. He withdrew it a few moments later, dropping it to the ground.

"What now?" I asked, and Sam shook her head.

"We just gotta wait for it to work through his system. It's just a regular pen," she said, stroking his hair. "God, this is so scary..."

"It's okay, Sam. I think we got it in time. He may not have to go to the hospital."

"I hope not," she responded softly, leaning down to kiss his forehead.

"What happened to you guys?" Brad asked.

"We went for a walk, got lost. We didn't mean to be gone for so long...from now on, I don't care if he's going down to the lobby for two seconds, he's never going to be without one of those pens on him."

I nodded. "Probably a good idea."

We all sat on the ground for a few minutes, silent, waiting for Freddie to come to. I breathed a sigh of relief when he started to stir a little bit, but he still wasn't opening his eyes. Sam went back to stroking his hair, shaking his shoulder a little bit.

"Baby, wake up," she said softly. "Baby...Freddie."

We all breathed a sigh of relief when Freddie's eyes fluttered open and he looked around for a moment, frowning suddenly. "Dammit!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Quit your bitching."

Freddie tried to sit up, but Sam's hands went to both shoulders, pulling him back. "Relax. Give it a few minutes."

"I am getting really sick of this shit," he grumbled. He looked at me and Brad. "When'd you guys get here?"

"A few minutes ago. We brought your pen. Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I guess so." He laid his head back in Sam's lap, looking up at her. "Hey you."

Sam smiled at him. "Hi. You scared me again."

"You scared me falling out of that tree, so I guess we're even for the day."

I looked up at Sam. "You fell out of a tree?"

"Yeah. I was trying to figure out where we were! It's okay though, Freddie caught me."

Brad snorted. "You mean he actually caught something for once?"

Freddie growled. "I'm not gonna be laid out like this forever."

"I know," Brad responded with a smirk. "You gonna live?"

"Probably." Freddie looked back up at Sam. "Can I get up now?"

Sam nodded. "Take it easy though."

Brad extended his hand, pulling Freddie up into a sitting position, and he just sat there for a moment.

"Thanks for saving my ass. Again."

Brad shrugged. "I couldn't let you die in my grandparents' woods. Too many questions!"

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, can we please get a move on? Freddie, can you walk?"

"I can try." He tried to stand up, before falling back on his ass, groaning. "Not yet."

"Give it a few minutes, honey," Sam said, rubbing his shoulders.

"Only if you keep doing that," he replied, and I saw Sam roll her eyes, smiling a little.

"Okay," she leaned forward and kissed the side of his neck before going back to rubbing him.

I sighed, finally relaxing for the first time in a few hours. What a weird couple of days this had been. Trying to convince Sam and Freddie they needed to be apart from each other, then realizing I could barely handle being apart from Brad. Another thought occurred to me when I realized I'd freaked out just as bad when I couldn't find Sam and Freddie. Brad and I accused them of being too dependent on one another, but did it go deeper than that? Were all of us dependent on each other? This whole thing between the four of us was really strange to outsiders, and maybe they had a point. I couldn't help but wonder if we were normal at all.


	69. Chapter 69: Misery

**A/N: Short chapter, but VERY dramatic, with a MAJOR twist at the end. **

**Chapter Sixty Nine:  
><strong>**Misery**

~*Sam*~

"Are you sure you're alright, honey?"

I looked over at Freddie and then back at Brad's grandmother, who was still waiting for an answer to her question. Freddie nodded, leaning back on the couch a bit.

"Yes, Mrs. Harrison, I'm fine," he responded. "Just a little out of it."

"Yeah, he's good now, we got him all pumped full of insulin," Brad responded, flopping down on the couch next to Freddie and slapping him on the knee. I glared at him.

"No hitting Freddie after he passes out, we've been over this," I warned.

"Baby, I'm fine!" Freddie responded, putting his arm around me and kissing me on the side of the head.

"I just wanna know one thing," Brad's cousin Jason asked us as he sat down. "Why on earth would you let HIM stick a needle in you?" He looked at Brad pointedly, and Brad just rolled his eyes.

"Well...I was kind of unconscious," Freddie replied, and Jason shook his head.

"No excuse. Sam, let me know when homeboy over here's good again, we got a potato gun to build!"

"Hell yeah!" I responded. "Few hours, he should be fine." When Jason nodded, standing up and walking away, I turned back to Freddie. "Baby, maybe you should go lay down for a little while."

"Only if you come with," he replied, staring at me. I nodded.

"Of course. Sorry, Mrs. Harrison, I think we're gonna have to bow out of dinner, Freddie's not really in good shape right now, regardless of what he says."

"Yeah, he can be inches away from passing out and he'll still yell at us about being fine," Brad mused.

"That's fine, kids," Brad's grandmother responded with a warm smile. "I'll make sure there's plenty of leftovers for you two."

"Thanks," I said, standing up. "Sorry about all the...hustle and bustle."

"Honey, I have nineteen grandchildren, we don't know anything but hustle and bustle," she replied. "You two get some rest."

"Okay." I extended my hands to Freddie, pulling him to his feet. "Come on, baby."

He grumbled a bit, but followed me up the stairs. He always got a little moody after he passed out. I knew part of it was because it made him feel weak and less of a man, and probably scared him a little bit too, but I'd also read on some websites I'd done research on that low insulin levels could make a person grouchy too. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately either. I just wanted him to feel better. We finally got to the third floor, into the room we were staying in, and he fell onto the bed, burying his face in the pillow. I sat down next to him, rubbing his back.

"You okay, baby?" I asked, but he didn't respond. He finally turned over onto his back, looking up at me.

"I hate when this happens," he sighed, grabbing my arm and yanking me down to him. I snuggled against him, laying my head on his chest.

"I know," I responded. "It doesn't make you weak though, okay?"

He didn't speak, just nodded, playing with my hair, stroking it, wrapping it around his fingers. It was almost as if doing that made him feel better. He'd probably kill me if I ever cut it. My hand went to the side of his neck, tracing small circles over his skin, and I laid my leg across his body. No matter what was going on, whenever we laid like this, nothing else mattered.

"Does your head still hurt?" I asked softly, and he nodded a bit. I sat up, ignoring the irritated look he gave me, which melted away as soon as my hands went to the sides of his head and began rubbing his temples. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too, baby," I replied, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. "I just want you to feel better. I hate when you get like this."

"That makes two of us," he replied.

"Does that make it feel any better?" I asked.

"Can you go in the other direction?" he replied, and I switched directions, going counterclockwise instead.

"Harder or softer?"

"Softer," he replied, his eyes still closed. "That feels good."

I continued to rub his head for a few more minutes, before pulling away. "Do you want me to rub your back?"

"No," he replied, and my eyebrows went up.

"No?"

"Just lay here with me," he said, pulling me back down to him. I laid my head back down on his chest, and he grabbed my leg, pulling it across his body like it had been before. He kissed me on the top of my head before laying back again, going back to playing with my hair. Within a few minutes, he was out cold, and I propped my chin on his chest to look at him. He looked so damn adorable when he slept, it was ridiculous. Boy probably had no idea how often I did this, watched him sleep. I couldn't help it. I watched him sleep for a few more minutes, until my stomach started growling at me, and I disentangled myself from his arms, getting off the bed carefully so I wouldn't wake him and sneaking downstairs.

~*Brad*~

"Well, one of the creatures live," I commented as Sam walked into the kitchen. "Freddie asleep?"

"Uh-huh," she responded, pulling a chair out and sitting down next to Carly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Uh, well there's so many of us we kind of split off into different factions during the holiday meals. Adults in the formal dining room, the young kids in the living room, and the rest of us just kind of scatter. Hungry?"

"Starved," she replied.

"Is Freddie still grumpy?" Carly asked Sam, and she shrugged.

"Well, it's hard to be grumpy when you're asleep, but when he wakes up...everyone be prepared."

I groaned, rolling my eyes. Freddie's bad moods after he had an insulin crash made Sam PMSing seem like Mr. Rogers, and that was a downright frightening thing to behold. We all understood why he got like that, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with, and it usually lasted about eight to twelve hours afterward. Eight to twelve hours of walking on eggshells. Sam was the most susceptible, because she was always in his direct path, and he tended to mouth off and say things that really hurt her feelings. I hoped there wouldn't be any major blow ups today.

"Hopefully he'll pull back today, since he's around other people," Carly commented softly, making a face when Sam grabbed her fork and started eating her food. "Sam! Go get your own!"

"Ugh, fine!" She stood up and headed to the counter where all the food was spread out. "What is this?"

"Stuffing, duh," I replied.

"No, I know that...but like...what's in it?"

"Oysters."

"Ohh. Cool." She grabbed a fork, and I rolled my eyes.

"Sam! Get a plate! Jesus! Don't just dive in!"

"Why are you guys being so uppity today?" she questioned me, and I laughed.

"Sorry to hit you with manners, Mrs. Benson. Just do it."

"I'm a little worried," she commented, turning to look at me.

"About?"

"Well if one of your cousins mouths off to Freddie..."

"Don't worry, I already took care of that. But I don't care how grumpy he is, after he wakes up and eats, we're on that potato gun," I said.

"Hell yeah!" she responded with a grin. "You guys do have the right chemicals, right?"

"Oh yeah. Whaddya think we are, amateurs?"

"Should I be worried about this whole potato gun thing?" Carly asked.

"Nah, it's really fun!" Sam replied.

"What exactly is it?"

"Well, you take a few PVC pipes, and some household chemicals, mix them together, and it creates enough pressure to launch potatoes out of the PVC pipe."

"Why potatoes?"

Sam shrugged. "Why not?"

"What about a golf ball?" I asked, and Sam's eyes grew big.

"Yes! We could cause twice as much damage!"

"No!" Carly yelled. "No damage!"

"Nope, forget it, Carly, it's on now...I'm gonna go to the shed and find Grandpa's golf bag!" I said, but as I turned to walk out of the kitchen, I groaned as I heard STOMP STOMP STOMP down the stairs.

"SAM!"

"Oh god," Carly whined, laying her head on the table. "I think Freddie's awake."

I rolled my eyes as Freddie came around the corner, glaring at Sam. She just crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him, unwilling to put up with his bad mood.

"What's up, baby?"

"You can't just sneak off the second I fall asleep!" he replied, continuing to glare.

"Freddie, I didn't sneak off the second you fell asleep. But I was hungry!" she replied.

Freddie rolled his eyes. "You're always eating," he replied. "I'm going back upstairs."

"No you're not!" she yelled, walking over to him and yanking him back into the kitchen. "Sit down. You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry," he replied, and Sam shook her head.

"Tough shit. Sit there, I'll get you some food."

"I'm serious! I'm not hungry!"

Sam just put her arms around him from behind, kissing him on the neck. "You're so cute when you're angry. Try to tone it down, okay?"

Freddie sighed, rubbing her arm. "Sorry, baby. I'm trying."

"I know. Just relax, okay?"

"Dude, do you need Midol or something?" I asked Freddie, leaning against the table. He scowled.

"Brad!" Sam scolded me. "Leave him alone!"

"Just saying, he doesn't have to be such a dick every time this happens," I commented, standing up straight. "I'll be back, I'm gonna go get those golf balls."

"What are the golf balls for?" Freddie asked.

"The potato gun idea's been upgraded. Heavier artillery," I responded.

"Oh god," Freddie moaned. "You two are gonna end up killing someone."

"Yeah?" I replied with a shrug. "Keep mouthing off to Sam like that and I'll aim it for your head. She's just trying to help, and you're being an ass to her."

"BRAD!" Sam yelled. "I got it! I don't need your help on this! He's just moody, okay? He'll be fine in a few hours! His body's just out of whack!"

"Can you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Freddie snapped.

"Okay, everyone just calm down!" Carly yelled, standing up. "I am done with people yelling! Freddie, shut up! Sam, feed your husband! Brad, go get your stupid balls!" She glared at me and Sam when we started cracking up. "What? What is so funny?"

"You said balls," Sam laughed. Carly groaned, sitting back down.

"I give up!"

"Aw, babe," I said, kissing her on her forehead. "It's okay. But for the record, my balls are right here," I replied, grabbing her hand and putting it on my crotch.

"BRAD!" she yelled, jerking her hand away.

"Carly! Don't be such a prude!" Sam laughed. "It was funny!"

"You guys are gonna have to grow up one of these days," she grumbled. I just smiled, bending down to kiss her.

"Love you babe."

"Love you too, most of the time," she responded with a grin. I just grinned right back before walking out the door and heading to the shed.

An hour later, I was standing around the backyard with Sam, Freddie, Carly, the triplets, and Kayla, piecing the potato/golf ball gun together. Sam and I were making sure the pipes were airtight, and the triplets were making sure the chemical mix was right.

"Let me see," Sam said, standing up and walking over to the triplets. She eyed the container critically, shaking it a bit.

"Keep your face away from that!" I yelled to her, and she just glared at me.

"The mix isn't right anyway. We need more tinfoil!"

"I'll get it," Jacob responded, heading back toward the house.

"So...you put the bottle on the end of the pipes..." Carly stated. "And then what?"

"It makes a gas, gas forms pressure, pressure pushes the potato...or in this case a golfball, out of the other end and launches it," Sam responded. "Are the pipes tight enough?"

"Should be," I responded. I turned around, and rolled my eyes. "Kayla!"

"What?" she snapped. She was way too close to Freddie. Every time Sam turned her back, Kayla tried moving in. Sam got along fine with everyone else in my family, but she hated Kayla, and I could understand why. I'd kill anyone who tried to make a move on Carly, and Kayla seemed bound and determined to get Freddie's attention, even if he wasn't willing to give it.

"You are WAY too close to my husband," Sam growled. "Freddie?"

"I'm fine, Sam! Not interested!" Freddie continued to ignore Kayla, but Sam just crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't care. Come here."

Freddie rolled his eyes and sighed a little bit, before stalking over to her. Sam glared at Kayla before grabbing Freddie by his shirt collar, yanking him towards her and kissing him fiercely. In spite of his bad mood, he still kissed her back, his hands going to her waist and pressing her against him. She pulled away and shot Kayla a triumphant look, who just threw her hands up in the air and stalked back inside. Sam directed her attention back to Freddie.

"Mmm, I love the way you kiss when you're pissed off. So aggressive."

Freddie shrugged. "You know what will take care of my bad mood."

"I know baby, but we can't do that here, remember? Just chill out. Watch the golf ball gun go off." She let go of him and walked back over to me, fiddling with the pipes.

"I'm back!" Jacob called, brandishing an entire role of tinfoil. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Yeaaaaah!" I yelled.

"Alright, gimme the Clorox," Sam said to Jason, who handed her the bottle, and she poured more of it into the two liter bottle we were using. "Tin foil?" She sounded like a surgeon directing her nurses. She grabbed the roll from Jacob and carried it, along with the two liter bottle, over to where I was standing with the pipes.

"Carly, back up!" I said, turning around to look at her. "If you're on the wrong end of this thing, you could really get yourself hurt."

"This is such a bad idea, but okay," Carly replied. She started backing up, and I raised my hand when she was the right distance away.

"Okay, stop! Stay right there!"

Carly shot a worried look over at Freddie, who just shrugged. He didn't seem too interested, but then again, he was in one of the worst moods I'd ever seen him in. I looked over at Sam, who was poised at the ready.

"Good?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Alright, let's do it."

"Get that pipe ready," she responded.

"Are you sure we shouldn't have added an extra three feet of PVC or so?" Jacob asked. "I mean...this is gonna be one hell of an explosion."

"What's a holiday without fireworks?" Sam responded, balling up the tin foil and putting it in the bottle, before covering the opening with another piece and shaking it furiously.

"Okay. Okay. OKAY! Sam! Now!" I yelled, moving her hand off the top of the bottle and putting the PVC pipe over top of it. Everyone stood there, watching and waiting, with baited breath.

"I think it's a dud," Jason said. "It's not..."

BOOM!

It had taken a little longer because we were using a bigger piece of PVC pipe, but it had done its job, sending the golfball flying across the yard, and clean OVER the house. The ginormous, five story house.

"HOLY SHIT!" Sam yelled, jumping up and down happily. "Did you see that? That was -"

CRASH!

We all froze.

"Was that a car window?" Carly asked, her hands on her hips. "You guys!"

"RUN!" Jared yelled, and the triplets all ran in the direction of the path leading to the spot to hide out for a few hours. Like always. I usually got stuck holding the bag for whatever we were doing, and I was used to it by now. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, shit!" Sam said. "We're in so much trouble!"

"We'd better go see which car we hit," I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "You two!" I turned to look at Carly and Freddie. "Come on!"

"Fuck that, this wasn't our idea!" Freddie responded, and I rolled my eyes.

"Doesn't matter, you were party to it! Get a move on, asshole."

Freddie grunted, and Carly started whining, but we all bravely walked around the house to the driveway to find out which one of my family's members cars we'd just demolished.

"Oh, son of a bitch," Sam moaned.

My eyes widened. It was Freddie's car. The golf ball had gone through the back window and shattered the entire thing out. Great. The kid would have been mad enough if he hadn't been coming out of his insulin funk, now he was going to go nuclear.

"Are you fucking KIDDING ME?" Freddie yelled, running over to his car. "No! Damn it!" He punched the side of his car angrily, grabbing his hand and hollering in pain.

"Yeah, that'll make the car better," I responded, annoyed at Freddie's tantrum, and he whirled around to glare at me.

"Shut the fuck up, Brad!" he growled. "This was your stupid fucking idea! You stupid son of a bitch!"

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" I asked, storming toward him.

"Whoa!" Sam yelled, coming between us and putting her hands on my chest. "Brad, back off! Come on! We fucked his car up, he has a right to be mad!"

"You're damn fucking straight I do, Sam! This is the second time in the last six months I've had my back window broken out! What the fuck?"

Sam turned around to look at him, a slightly shocked expression on her face. "Freddie, I'm sorry, okay? It was an accident!"

"Fuck your accidents! This time was no accident! You knew what you were fucking doing with that goddamn golf ball, Sam! How come my car never got damaged ONCE until I got involved with YOU?"

Oh. My. God.

HORRIBLE choice of words.

Carly was so shocked she actually gasped aloud, and I just stood there, gaping at Freddie, before looking over at Sam, who just stumbled back a few steps in disbelief, not speaking, just staring at him. Her bottom lip was trembling, and I knew she was about to lose it.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Freddie continued to rant.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP FREDDIE!" I yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"This! My fucking car! Look at it! Sam! What the fuck?"

Sam just stood there for a second, a single tear trailing down her face, before straightening up and regaining her composure.

"Good to know what's important to you. Sorry your car got messed up because of me. Sorry your life got messed up because of me."

I wasn't expecting the next thing she did, and it shocked me so much I wanted to fall over. She took her ring off, and threw it at Freddie, before turning on her heel and running away at top speed.

"SAM!" Carly yelled, turning to run after her, but then she stopped and glared at Freddie. "YOU ASSHOLE!" With that, she took off after Sam. I looked over at Freddie, absolutely shocked.

"Look at this shit!" Freddie yelled. "Another window replacement!"

"FREDDIE!" I yelled. "Did you just MISS what just happened?"

"No, I didn't! But I'm fucking pissed!"

I picked Sam's ring off the ground and shoved it in my pocket, before storming over to him, trapping him between me and his car.

"The first time the window got broken out," I said. "How did that happen?"

"Because the day I took her to her fucking trailer to get her shit, that stupid bastard Bill shot it out! And look! It's broken again!"

That did it. Before I could stop myself, I pulled back and struck him across the face, hard, sending him to the ground.

"What the fuck was that for?" he yelled.

"Because you're a fucking idiot!" I yelled at him. "I don't care about your fucking bad mood, that was so fucking out of line...you don't even deserve that girl!"

"Look at my fucking car!"

I yanked him off the ground by his shirt collar, forcing him to look in the direction Sam and Carly were. Sam had only made it about ten feet from the house before she collapsed on the ground and started sobbing. Carly was trying to hug her, but she kept pushing her away, completely inconsolable.

"Look at your fucking wife!" I shouted. "You idiot! You just broke that girl!"

Freddie's angry glare softened a bit, but he still shoved me away.

"Why don't you just back off, Brad?"

I gave him a shocked look, and my hands went up defensively. "Fine, I'm done. And you know what? I lied."

Freddie looked confused. "What do you mean you lied?"

"Carly wasn't my first choice. You just got to Sam before I could. And since you've obviously fucked up everything, I now have a clear shot!"

Freddie glared at me, taking a step closer. "You touch her, I'll kill you."

I shrugged. "Knock yourself out. After the way you just treated her, I doubt she'll stop me." With that, I turned around, leaving Freddie in the driveway and walking over to Carly and Sam.

"Carly," I said, and she looked up at me.

"What?"

"I need you to talk to Freddie for me," I responded. "I'm done."

She sighed, standing up. "I don't want to talk to him either."

"Please? It's important."

She nodded. "Okay."

"But one more thing," I replied, pulling her to me. "I'm working an angle here, to teach Freddie a lesson. Just keep that in mind, okay? I love you. You're the only girl I want."

She eyed me curiously. "What game are you playing, Brad?"

"Sam made an effort to treat him better, a big one. But he's not doing the same. Just trust me, okay? No matter what, you HAVE to trust me on this. And don't listen to a word he says. Just go along with it. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," she said softly.

I looked down at Sam, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "Come with me."

**A/N: Yeah, so you think you know, but you have NO idea...you're gonna have to stay tuned for the next chapter. It's really gonna throw you for a loop!**


	70. Chap70 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

**A/N: It's about to get REAL...also, we finally get to the bottom of what's REALLY going on between Sam and Brad, and a little surprise thrown in for good measure!**

**Chapter Seventy:  
><strong>**You've Got To Hide Your Love Away**

~*Sam*~

I couldn't even speak I was so upset, just continued to sob uncontrollably as Brad led me into the house, dragging me upstairs to one of the bedrooms and shutting the door, locking it.

"Sit," he said, and I did, still crying. Brad sat down next to me, one arm going around me and I buried my face in his shoulder, still sobbing, so hard I was having trouble breathing. Brad didn't say anything for about five minutes, I guess he knew that I was so upset I probably wouldn't have heard him. Finally he pulled away, staring at me.

"Sam," he said gently. "We gotta talk."

"About what?" I sobbed. "Oh my god...Brad...Brad what am I gonna do? He's so mad at me!"

"He's an asshole. And he doesn't deserve you."

I shrugged, wiping my face, but fresh tears continued to pour out. "I don't deserve him. I fucked his car up. I fucked his life up!"

"No, you didn't. That kid is much better off now that he has you, but I really don't like how he treats you when he gets in his moods."

I shook my head. "I deserve it."

"No, you don't!" Brad responded. "You can't keep thinking like that, okay? It's not healthy!"

"It doesn't matter," I said softly. "I threw my ring at him. That's pretty much a sign that I gave up. He won't take me back."

"And did you give up?" Brad replied.

"No! I'm never going to give up on him!" I cried. "I love him!"

"Okay, look, you may love him, but he can't keep treating you like this. So here's what's gonna happen." When I looked up at him, he continued. "You're gonna stay at Carly's for a few days, okay?"

"What? Why?"

"Because if you just CAVE all of a sudden, he's not going to change. He's gotta see that you have more respect for yourself than that! And he's gotta KNOW what it feels like to be without you, or nothing's gonna change!"

"What if it goes wrong?" I replied worriedly. "What if he decides he's better off without me?"

"He won't," Brad responded. "He loves you, Sam. Even though he's being an asshole right now, he really does love you."

"So, I'm supposed to just stay at Carly's and then he'll come to his senses?"

"No, there's more," Brad replied.

"What else?"

"Look, Carly knows a little bit about what I'm gonna do, but I'm gonna explain it more in-depth in a little while. I'm gonna pretend to break up with Carly."

"WHAT? WHY?" I exclaimed. "Why would you do that?"

"I'm gonna pretend to break up with Carly, and then I'm gonna PRETEND to make a pass at you."

"Brad!" I exclaimed. "You can't do that! Freddie will kill you!"

Brad shrugged. "I don't care. I'll take the hit. He's gotta learn. You guys are really, really good for each other. But you'll be better once he stops taking his anger out on you. And he's not going to do that until he realizes he might lose you over it!"

"I don't know," I said slowly.

"Just trust me, okay?" Brad replied. "I know what I'm doing. Are you in?"

"Yeah, I guess," I responded, sniffling a bit.

"Alright," he replied, standing up. He fished something out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Here's your ring, but don't put it back on yet."

I nodded. "This better work, or..."

"You'll kill me. I know," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "You gotta trust me, Sam. I care about you a lot. And I care about Freddie a lot. I want you both to be happy."

"Thanks," I said, and he nodded.

"You got it. I'm gonna get Carly, and then we'll all go over how this is gonna go, okay?"

"Yeah," I replied. Brad gave me an encouraging smile, and with that, he was out the door. I laid back on the bed, holding my ring and staring at it.

I didn't want to go through with this, but maybe Brad was right.

Please, please let Brad be right.

~*Carly*~

"You are such a jackass!" I yelled as I paced back and forth, glaring at Freddie. He just stood there, leaning against the car, scowling. "Are you LISTENING to me? You really hurt her!"

"I'm really gonna hurt your fucking boyfriend if he doesn't stay away from her!" he growled, and I rolled my eyes. Then suddenly, I remembered what Brad said, and an idea popped into my head.

"There may not be anything we can do," I said softly.

"You see, I told you! I told you before! When we thought they were cheating! I knew he had a thing for her!" he exclaimed.

I nodded sadly. "Yeah, I know."

"You KNEW?" Freddie responded, a shocked expression across his face. "You knew and you didn't tell me! How long have you known?"

I sighed. "I've always known, Freddie! He was really upfront about me being his second choice." I tried to will my face into a sad, forlorn expression, but didn't feel like it was coming across strong enough, so I looked at the ground. "I mean, he knew she was in love with you, so he didn't press it. And I decided I'd rather have a part of him then not at all!"

"CARLY!" he yelled. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You guys were such good friends. I mean, you have to respect that he didn't go after her...UNTIL YOU SCREWED UP!" I yelled. "This is all your fault! You can't treat her like that and expect to get away with it! And now you've probably lost her for good!"

"What?" Freddie exclaimed. "No! We just had a fight, that's all!"

"Just a fight? Freddie! You brought up bad shit! Bill shit! You can't do that! I don't care how angry you are! She took her RING off! Do you get that? And guess who's in there consoling her right now? Brad! You're fucked!"

"No. No way. She..." Freddie trailed off, sighing. "Dammit! Alright, I'm going to go get Sam, and we're leaving! Going back to Seattle! I can't deal with this shit anymore!"

"Yeah, good luck trying to get her to leave with you!" I yelled as he brushed past me and ran inside. I turned around and began following him, then stopped in my tracks as I saw him and Brad come face to face on the porch. Okay, this is not a time to freeze! I started running towards them at top speed, before anyone could throw a punch.

"I'm taking Sam, and we're leaving," Freddie said to Brad, who just scoffed.

"Yeah, good luck with that. She doesn't wanna see you. Or talk to you."

"But she wants to talk to you?"

Brad shrugged. "She's always liked talking to me, remember?"

"Dude, I swear to fucking god..." Freddie hollered, stepping toward him, but I jumped in between them.

"Everyone calm the fuck down!" I yelled. "Brad, back off! Freddie, you wanna see if Sam wants to go with you, go right ahead, but I think you're gonna lose this one."

"We'll see," Freddie replied, shoving past Brad and heading up the stairs. I shot a worried look at Brad and we both began following Freddie upstairs.

"SAM!" He yelled. "Where are you?"

Sam opened one of the bedroom doors, sticking her head out. "What, Freddie? What do you want?"

"I'm leaving. You coming?" he asked her, and she shook her head slowly.

"No," she responded simply, and Freddie's jaw dropped.

"No? But...Sam!" He turned around and glared at Brad before looking back at Sam. "Because of him?"

"No," she said. "Because of you. I tried really, really hard to change, and I did. But I just turned into a doormat. Your doormat. And I'm not gonna let you take your anger out on me anymore."

"You don't mean that, baby..." he said. "Baby, please..."

She looked over at me and Brad, and we both nodded to her. She looked at Freddie, taking a deep breath.

"I'm not your baby anymore," she said softly, shutting the door in his face.

"I told you," I said to Freddie, and he turned around and glared at me.

"Shut up," he replied. "Fuck you. Both of you. Have fun being number two, Carly." He glared at Brad. "This isn't over. You are not gonna take that girl away from me."

Brad just shrugged. "Game on, man. Now, you'd better get your shit and bounce on out, because if you try to throw a punch, there's gonna be a LOT of pissed off military guys to deal with."

Freddie didn't say anything, just shoved past him, going upstairs to get his duffel bag and then coming back down the stairs, and without so much as a word, he left the house. A moment later we heard tires squealing, signaling he had left.

I sighed, looking up at Brad. "You sure this was the right thing to do?"

"Do you love Sam?" he asked me, and I nodded. "How about Freddie?" When I nodded again, he pulled me into his arms, kissing me on the forehead. "Then you gotta do this. They're never gonna be happy unless they can deal with their problems without really hurting each other. They're both miserable right now, Sam for what Freddie said to her, and Freddie for having to deal with what he said."

"This just seems so mean...the way we treated Freddie I mean," I replied softly.

"You must be cruel only to be kind, as Shakespeare would say," Brad responded. He walked over to the room Sam was camped out in, knocking on the door. "Sam? He left. Open up."

I heard the door unlock, and I pushed past Brad, opening it, to discover Sam had flung herself down face first on the bed and was sobbing. I sat down next to her, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Sam...it's okay. You did the right thing."

"What if it doesn't work?" she sobbed.

"It's gonna work," Brad replied. "Now sit up, because we have to talk."

~*Brad*~

"Okay, first of all, we need to lay down some ground rules on this thing," Carly stated, looking up at me.

"Go ahead," I replied.

"First off, if Freddie thinks Sam has actually MOVED ON, it's not going to work. At all. He'll give up. His ego wouldn't be able to take the hit, and he'd just fall apart. So we can't make it look like you guys are an actual couple."

"I agree," I replied. "But you and I have to PRETEND to break up. And Freddie's going to have to see me going after her, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," she said softly. My hand went to her chin, tilting it up. "Are you sure you're gonna be able to handle this? You know how I really feel?"

She nodded. "I know."

I looked over at Sam, who was sitting next to Carly, looking at the floor. "Sam," I said, and she looked up at me. "Wipe your face, you've got eye makeup EVERYWHERE."

She shrugged. "I don't care."

"Alright, whatever," I responded with a wave of my hand. "Now, I want you to listen very closely to me. Are you listening?"

"Uh-huh."

"The first time he comes at you, and trust me, it won't be very long, do NOT, under any circumstances, CAVE. I don't care how much you miss him, how lonely you are, how scared you are that it's not going to work, don't cave!"

"Then when..."

"When you feel like he's being sincere. You'll know. He'll start getting desperate, and that's when you gotta hit him where it hurts."

She sighed softly, looking back down at the ground. "I still feel like this is gonna go all wrong, and I'm gonna lose him."

"You're not gonna lose him, Sam!" Carly exclaimed. "He loves you! He just doesn't know how to keep his anger under wraps, and he's gotta learn!"

"Sam," I said, putting my hand on her knee and shaking her leg slightly. "Carly and I are not gonna steer you wrong on this, okay? He has to be scared of losing you. Not only scared, but absolutely TERRIFIED. It's gotta stay there in his system until it completely consumes him and he just falls apart!"

"I don't want him to fall apart!" she cried. "I hate doing to this to him! I love him!"

"I know you do, believe me. But this has gotta happen. It's gonna happen. He's gonna fall apart, and it's gonna be soon, really soon. And the second he does fall apart," I paused, and she looked up at me. "That's when you forgive him, and put him back together."

"Okay," she said. "I'm gonna trust you guys on this...but Brad...what if he just snaps on you?"

I shrugged. "I can take him."

"You better not hurt him!" she warned me, and I shook my head.

"I'm not gonna hurt him. He's my best friend. I'll take a punch or two if I have to. I'm not doing this because I'm pissed off at him, though I am. We're doing this, Carly and I, because we want you guys to be happy together, and STAY together. At the rate you're going now, the way he's been treating you and then just writing it off as being grumpy, it's gonna wear you down, and then one day you'll just give up. And then you both really WILL be miserable. Got it?"

She nodded. "Got it."

"Good," I responded. "Carly, you're gonna need to call Spencer, get him to pick you two up, and take you back to Seattle. I'll ride back with my folks."

"Are you sure?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Freddie can't see you and me showing up together. It'll throw the whole thing off."

"That's a good point," she replied, before standing up. "Okay, I'll go call him." She left the room to call Spencer, leaving me and Sam alone. We stared at each other for a moment.

"Brad?" Sam said.

"Yeah?"

"I have a question."

"Okay," I responded.

"Um...just so we're clear..."

"I know what you're getting at," I said suddenly, and she looked at me, surprised.

"You do?"

"Yep," I replied. I sat down next to her. "And the answer's yes."

"Answer to what?"

"If you didn't love Freddie, and I didn't love Carly, things would probably be different. Is that what you were getting at?"

"Yeah," she replied, staring at me. "But..."

"But it doesn't mean anything will ever happen," I finished.

"You know Freddie used to be in love with Carly."

"I know," I replied. "But I don't worry about it. Do you?"

"No," she responded softly. "The four of us have a really weird thing going on, you know that?"

"Yeah, no shit," I replied, running my hands through my hair. "It is really weird. But I'm never going to make a move on you, and you're never going to make a move on me. Right?"

"Right."

"Then we're good. Come on, Sam. Freddie and Carly aren't stupid, they know there's a certain level of...attraction. But attraction doesn't mean love, does it?"

"No," she replied. "And I'd never risk hurting Freddie over a little attraction."

"And I'd never hurt Carly. So don't worry. This thing isn't going to go any farther than just pretending, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Besides, I don't like being bitten," I grinned at her, and she laughed.

"And you're too skinny," she replied.

"You love it," I responded, standing up. "Don't try to lie."

"Yeah, I have a real thing for guys who wear a smaller jean size than me," she said with a roll of her eyes, before growing serious. "Thank you. For doing this for me I mean."

I shrugged. "I told you, you guys are my best friends. I want you to be happy."

She nodded. "I want you and Carly to be happy."

"And we are," I replied. "There's no chance of any of the balance getting thrown out of whack. We're not gonna start switching partners like a damn square dance, okay?"

"Good enough for me," she replied, standing up. "Alright, let's get out of this room, it's depressing me."

"But one more thing, Sam?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"If for some reason you changed your mind about Freddie and you wanna get with Carly, that'd be so hot, and I'd fully support it! And videotape it, if you let me!"

She laughed, shoving me a bit. "You're such a perv, Brad!"

"Yeah, family trait," I responded. "Come on, let's get out of here."

~*Freddie*~

I couldn't believe this was happening.

I'd completely flipped out on Sam, made her cry, and hurt her so bad that she'd completely given up on me.

And then, just to add insult to injury, my BEST FRIEND had told me he was into Sam and planned on going after her. My wife. My wife's best friend's boyfriend. MY BEST FRIEND!

I wanted to just straight up DIE.

I'd sped all the way back to my apartment in a daze. I was amazed I didn't get into a wreck or something, but I made it back in one piece, stomping up the stairs to my apartment and flopping down on me and Sam's bed.

It wasn't our bed anymore. Just mine. I was alone. Again.

Sam used to be the one who took her anger out on me, not the other way around. She'd gotten better, and I'd stayed the same. I loved that girl with all my heart, but maybe I hadn't shown it as much as I'd thought.

And now I'd lost her.

But I couldn't give up. I REFUSED to give up. She had to come back eventually, and when she did I was going to do everything in the world to make her forgive me.

~*Carly*~

I staggered into the apartment, completely exhausted, with Sam dragging her feet behind me. I'd gotten no sleep at all. Sam had been up and hysterical most of the night, and Brad and I had done everything we could to try and calm her down, but it was to no avail. She just kept crying.

Spencer and April had come to pick us up earlier in the day, not too happy about having to drive another 45 minutes on the other side of Seattle and then having to turn right back around, but they'd done it after I explained what was going on. Spencer agreed to let Sam stay for a few days after we'd explained the plan, and assured him it would only be a matter of days before Freddie absolutely lost it and begged her to come back. Now I'd be dealing with both of the Puckett twins in the same apartment. In my ROOM. God. At least Melanie rarely slept here anymore.

"I'm tired," Sam said pitifully, looking at the ground.

"It's okay, Sam," I said. "Let's go upstairs, you can take a nap, I'll even let you have the bed."

She nodded. "Okay."

We both trudged up the stairs, and I opened my bedroom door. But as soon as I did, I dropped my bags, my jaw practically hitting the floor.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed.

"What? What's going...OH MY GOD!" Sam shrieked.

"Melanie! What...what are you...oh my god!"

"Carly!" Melanie exclaimed, covering her naked body with a sheet. "Sam! I didn't think you guys would be back yet!"

"Oh my god!" Sam screamed. "I can't believe this...oh my god!"

"Will you stop saying that?" Melanie yelled.

I looked around her at the GIRL that was in my bed. I'll say it again. A GIRL. With Melanie! A cheerleader! I waved awkwardly.

"Hey, Carrie," I said.

She waved back just as awkwardly. "Hey, Carly."

"So...you guys...are..." I trailed off, my hands going to my head.

"Yeah, we are," Melanie replied.

"But why in my bed?" I screamed. "Oh my god!"

Sam leaned forward suddenly, her mouth a few inches from my ear.

"Brad's gonna be really pissed he missed this."


	71. Chapter 71: Some Other Guy

**A/N: Oooh, things are getting intense! I'm glad you guys for the most part are embracing this storyline and not freaking out over it! The next chapters are gonna be really high-octane drama, so stay tuned!**

**Chapter Seventy One:  
><strong>**Some Other Guy**

~*Sam*~

"Carly, please stop freaking out!" Melanie begged, but Carly wasn't listening.

"No! You have a girl IN MY BED!" Carly screamed.

"Sam! Help me!" Melanie begged.

Oh god, I wasn't in the mood for this! I was having a breakdown of my own, my own lovelife was falling apart, I couldn't deal with my sister's!

"Oh my god!" Carly yelled. "Oh my god!"

"Carly, calm down!" I said. "Come on." I grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the room. "You two," I said, looking at Melanie and Carrie. "Put some clothes on, and then...I have questions for you! Lots and lots of questions!"

I pulled Carly down the stairs, dragging her towards the couch. "Sit," I said. She did, and I flopped down next to her.

"Oh my god."

"Carly, calm down!" I yelled. "We have no idea what's going on, maybe they were just experimenting or something..."

"Your sister's a lesbian! How can you be so calm! They were doing lesbian things in my bed!"

"I'm calm because I have enough problems of my own right now!" I yelled. "I miss Freddie."

"I know, Sam," Carly took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and focus on the bigger issue, the issue of mine and Freddie's crumbling relationship. "Well, Brad will be back tomorrow, and we're gonna do the whole fake breakup thing, and then things are gonna start happening."

"I hope so."

A moment later, Melanie and Carrie came downstairs. Ew. It wasn't even the fact that it was a girl, it was the fact that it was a girl CHEERLEADER. Gross, Melanie!

"I'd better go," Carrie said softly. "I'll call you."

"Bye," Melanie called as Carrie let herself out, before turning back to me and Carly. "So...how was Thanksgiving?"

"Could have been a lot better," I replied. "So...how long exactly have you been a lesbian?"

"Umm..." Melanie trailed off. "Like...ninth grade."

"WHAT?" I yelled, standing up. "When were you gonna tell me?

"When I was comfortable with it!"

"But...you...you're boy-crazy!" Carly said. "I am so confused right now!"

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Come on, you guys. Have you ever actually SEEN me with a guy?"

"Well...no..." I trailed off. "Oh my god. Oh my god...you've been using that as a cover-up, haven't you?"

"Maybe," Melanie responded weakly.

I sighed, looking at the ground for a second, then back up at my sister. "Okay. Well, now we know."

"Wait," Melanie said. "Why are you being so cool about this?"

"Because I have enough problems of my own right now, Mel! Freddie and I are THIS CLOSE to splitting up!"

"WHAT?" Melanie shrieked. "Oh my god, forget my problems! Fuck my problems! Tell me what's going on!"

"Freddie has anger problems, and he keeps taking it out on Sam," Carly explained. Melanie looked at me, and I saw anger flash across her face.

"Did he hit you? I'm going to kill him!" She started walking towards the door, but I quickly grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"No! Freddie would never hit me!" I said. "He just says really mean shit sometimes. And Brad and Carly think I need to stand my ground and stop letting him do that."

"Uh, they're right!" she responded, crossing her arms. "And you need to handle it now!"

"We are, Mel," Carly responded. "We have a plan, and it's gonna hit Freddie pretty damn hard, but it'll get the point across."

"I still think Freddie's gonna hit Brad pretty hard," I commented, and Carly shook her head.

"I don't think it'll go that far," she replied. "But we'll see."

I sighed, flopping back down on the couch and laying my head in Carly's lap. "I don't wanna deal with this, Carls!"

"I know, Sam. But you have to," she replied softly. I nodded.

"Hey, Mel?" I asked. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, anything!" she replied.

"Can you change the sheets on Carly's bed? Cuz...ew."

Melanie sighed, rolling her eyes, before stomping up the stairs.

~*Brad*~

I stepped off the elevator and headed toward Carly's apartment, trying to mentally prepare myself for what was about to happen. I didn't really enjoy messing with Freddie's head, but the kid was being a dick and he had to learn to knock it off one way or another. It took a really secure guy to deal with being married to someone like Sam and having to deal with his illness, but that wasn't an excuse for him flipping out every time something went wrong, especially flipping out on Sam.

I kept going back to the conversation Sam and I had the other day at my grandparents' house. It was something I never thought we'd have to discuss, but it happened anyway. I wasn't blind, Sam was hot, she was fun, she was cool to be around. And I wasn't stupid, I'd caught Sam checking me out once or twice, the same way I'd caught Freddie and Carly checking each other out. But it wasn't something I worried about, it was just a fact we all had to deal with. I thought it was pretty stupid the way it was an unspoken topic, like a giant elephant always in the room. It was just something we either had to deal with, or couldn't deal with, and I didn't see why we couldn't just be adults about the whole thing.

Sometimes I wondered what would have happened if I ended up with Sam instead of Carly, but this was better. Sam was hot, and I knew she thought I was attractive as well, but our...sexual styles...definitely wouldn't mesh. Sam was even starting to rub off on Carly in that area, and once or twice I'd had to reel Carly in a bit, because I just wasn't in to the whole rough thing. I loved Carly, more than anything, and Freddie and Sam were pretty much worthless without the other one. That was a problem too, but it wasn't going to go anyway any time soon. Of course, some of these problems would probably be resolved if we just stayed out of each other's relationships, but that wasn't going to go away either. Carly was nosy as hell, Sam and Freddie were meddlers, and I hated watching my friends get hurt, especially when they were doing it to each other.

We had to be really, really careful with this whole thing. The line we were treading was an extremely thin, treacherous one. One step over the line one way and Freddie would beat the shit out of me. One step the other way, he'd just give up and Sam would completely lose it. And I worried about how Carly was going to be able to handle this whole thing as well. She seemed secure for the most part, she'd watched me paw Kristen in the locker room that day and didn't flip out. But this was Sam. Her best friend. I didn't know how she'd be able to handle watching me pull a move on her, even though she knew it was an act.

And then there was an entirely different possibility all together. Sam knew how I felt. I knew how she felt. Even though our styles wouldn't mesh, there was still a slight possibility that Sam could be feeling vulnerable and just have a moment of weakness, and there was a chance I could have my own moment of weakness. If that happened, there'd be no going back, none of us would be able to recover, and then everything would fall apart.

I really hoped Carly, Sam, and myself could keep our heads on straight long enough to force Freddie to fix what was going on in his own head.

I knocked on the front door of Carly's apartment, and a minute later, the door opened.

"Hey, Sam," I said. "How you holding up?"

She shrugged. "Freddie's been texting me all day. And trying to call me."

"Have you talked to him at all?"

She shook her head. "No. But I've been reading the texts."

"And?"

"He's sorry."

I gave her a Look. "Yeah, of course he's sorry, but that doesn't mean it's sunk in yet." I walked in, flopping down on the couch, and she shut the door behind me, locking it.

"Brad!" she whined. "I wanna cave!"

"You cannot CAVE, Sam! Not yet!" I said. She nodded, before perching on the edge of the couch and staring at me.

"So guess what?"

"My sister's a lesbian."

I glared at her. "Don't play games with me, Sam!"

"I'm not! Carly and I caught her in bed with CARRIE!"

My eyes widened. "You're shitting me."

"Thought you hated my sister," Sam replied with a grin.

"I do! I can't stand her, she's annoying as shit...but this gives her major points!"

"What is with you and lesbians anyway?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Two hot chicks, all over each other...it's hot."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I don't get it. So...you guys are really gonna do this, huh?"

"Yup," I replied. "Where is Carly anyway?"

"In the bathroom. April's been throwing up like nobody's business. Spencer went to the store and April just started puking. I'm surprised a boot didn't come out of her or something..."

"Okay, well you go be on vomit duty, bring Carly out here. We gotta go stand in the hallway and have a loud, obnoxious fake breakup."

She nodded. "Okay. But a few hints. Avoid any topics about her being a prude, or being too skinny or any of that. You know she's sensitive about that."

"Is she still drinking those protein shakes and claiming it's chocolate milk?" I asked, and when Sam nodded, I rolled my eyes.

"She's probably the only chick in Seattle trying to GAIN weight, you know that? Can't you start wearing a sports bra around her or something?"

Sam looked at me like I was insane. "I'm not covering the girls up! I mean...come on, Brad. Seriously."

I shrugged. "Whatever. Go get Carly."

"Okay," she replied, getting up and going to the bathroom. A moment later, Carly walked out, bouncing over to me and plopping down in my lap.

"Hey," she said, kissing me. I kissed her back eagerly, and for a few minutes we forgot why I was there in the first place.

"Okay, babe, you ready for this?" I asked.

"Uh-huh," she replied.

"You sure you can handle this?"

"Yeah. I just have a question," she replied.

"Yeah?"

"Can we make out afterwards?"

I laughed. "We can do a lot more than that!"

"Sounds good to me," she said, grinning mischievously. "Let's get this over with. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can get naked."

"Works for me," I replied. She stood up, grabbing my hands and pulling me to my feet. We walked out the front door, poised outside it.

"Okay," I whispered. "1...2...3...go."

"I HATE YOU!" Carly yelled suddenly. "I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

"I CAN'T HELP HOW I FEEL, CARLY!" I yelled back. "I TRIED TO IGNORE IT, BUT I CAN'T!"

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? SHE'S YOUR BEST FRIEND!"

"SHE DESERVES BETTER THAN WHAT SHE HAS!"

"WHAT ABOUT ME?"

"CARLY, I CAN'T HELP IT! WE'RE JUST NOT MEANT TO BE, OKAY?"

"FUCK YOU, I HATE YOU!"

I gave her a Look, and she just shrugged, looking sheepish. Almost over now though. After she slammed the door in my face, I was going to go back down to the lobby and take the private elevator into her apartment, and then...private time.

'Do it!' I mouthed, and she clapped her hands together loud.

"OW!" I yelled. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST SLAPPED ME! YOU'RE SUCH A BITCH!"

Her mouth dropped open, and she glared at me.

'Sorry,' I mouthed, holding my hands up, and she just shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, BRAD!"

"FINE! I DON'T WANT YOU ANYWAY!"

"FINE!" She stepped back inside to slam the door shut.

'Love you,' I mouthed, and she smiled.

'Love you too,' she responded, before slamming the door loudly.

"FUCK!" I yelled, kicking the door.

As I predicted, a moment later, the door across the hall opened, revealing Freddie. I glared at him.

"Problems?" I asked.

He shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest. "Not as many problems as you're gonna have."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means watch your ass. You lay one hand on my wife, and I'll beat the shit out of you," he responded.

I shrugged. "I'll do what she wants."

"Fuck you, Brad!" Freddie hissed. "You wanna play games with me, you know exactly what I'm capable of doing!"

"And what's that? Rehashing old problems and making your wife feel bad? She's still really upset. She's gonna need someone to comfort her."

"I swear to god, I'll fucking kill you!" Freddie yelled, stepping out of his apartment and shoving me into the wall, his forearm laid across my chest. Oh, shit.

"Are you that scared Sam might fall for me and forget about you? Because I think you are," I said.

"I'm not worried about that. At all," he replied.

"Oh really? Then why do you have me pinned against the wall right now? You're fucking scared. I can see it. If you're that worried about it, then win her back yourself."

He glared at me for a second before releasing me. I went to stand up straight, but he shoved me again.

"I will get her back," he hissed, and I shrugged.

"We'll see. Game on."

"Pretty intense game we're playing, you sure you wanna go down that road with ME?"

"You think Sam's worth it?" I replied.

"She's worth everything."

"Then she's worth going head-to-head with me over."

Freddie shook his head. "I never thought you would stoop this low, man."

"And I never thought you would treat her so badly. She deserves better. And I'll give her better."

Freddie growled at me. "Whatever. Sam's my WIFE. She loves ME. I will get her back, and then I'm gonna beat the shit out of you."

I shrugged again. "If you say so."

"Fuck you," he hissed, before walking back into his apartment and slamming the door. I rolled my eyes. Sam was right, that kid was way too easy to mess with. He couldn't control his emotions, and when that happened, his brain ceased to work properly. He was going to learn to control them, even if I ended up getting my ass beat over it.

I sighed as I walked to the elevator. Whatever happened, I hoped we'd all be able to recover from it.

~*Carly*~

Brad had to be really careful. If he pissed Freddie off too much, if he misstepped one boundary, Freddie would beat him senseless, and then I'd have to kill Freddie, and none of us would be happy. But I was trying to keep the faith. Brad had a dark gift for manipulation, a very well-honed one, even more so than Sam, so I was pretty sure he knew what he was doing. I just hoped Freddie wouldn't snap before everything worked out.

After we'd done the whole fake breakup thing, Brad had come back, and we had little bit of alone time to reconnect, but then his dad had called, wanting him to babysit, so he had to bounce, leaving me alone with lovesick Spencer, babysick April, and super-depressed Sam, who had spent the last two days just laying around. We were just sitting on the couch, bumming out, when a knock came at the door.

"I'll get it," I told Sam, and walked over to the front door, unlocking it and pulling it open, revealing a delivery man. "Can I help you?"

"Is Sam Benson here? I have a delivery for her," he responded.

"I'm Sam Benson," Sam said, standing up. "For now, anyway," she added under her breath.

"Can you sign this?" the delivery man gruffed, and Sam walked to the door, signing the clipboard he was holding.

"So what's the...oh my god!" Sam exclaimed as she looked into the hallway. The delivery man brushed past her, with the first bouquet of flowers. Then he turned around and brought the next two in. Then the next two. And they just kept coming.

"Oh my god! How many is that?" I asked the delivery man, and he shrugged.

"Twelve dozen," he responded, and Sam and I looked at each other in shock.

"TWELVE DOZEN?" Sam exclaimed.

"Is there a card?" I asked, going through the various bouquets of roses that were sitting on our counter. "Here it is!"

Sam ran over and jerked the card out of my hands, nearly knocking me over in the process, ripping open the envelope and pulling the card out, reading it. "Awww!" she said, looking like she was about to cry. "Carly, look!"

I took the card from her hands, and wanted to melt as I read it.

'My Sweet Sweet Baby,

144 roses for 144 days we've been married. I love you with all my heart and I'm so sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me. I can't live without you. Love always and forever, Freddie.'

"AWWW!" we both said.

"Carly..." Sam trailed off, looking at me, and I shook my head.

"Nope. Not yet, Sam."

"But..."

"But he needs to apologize to you in person! Flowers are nice, okay, this is incredibly sweet, but he needs to know this isn't just a normal fight."

"But..." she said again, and I grabbed her shoulders, shaking them.

"Sam! You've gotta be strong!" I yelled. "Just wait, okay?"

"Fine," she sighed, sitting down at the counter and staring at the flowers. "He's so sweet. I love him."

"Yeah, he's sweet, but he can't control his anger," I reminded her, and she shrugged.

"I've put up with worse," she commented softly, and I thumped her on the shoulder.

"That doesn't mean you don't deserve to be better," I replied. "I'm gonna go across the hall and get some of your stuff, and see where his head is at, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Just keep it together, okay? Just a little bit longer."

She stared at me. "I don't know how much longer I can."

I shrugged. "Just try. I'll be right back."

I walked across the hall to Freddie's apartment, knocking on the door, and a moment later Freddie opened the door, looking extremely disappointed that I wasn't Sam.

"Hey," I said softly. "How's it going?"

"How do you think?" he snapped. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, I just came by to get some of Sam's stuff. She needs clothes."

Freddie groaned. I followed him to their bedroom and began pulling Sam's clothes out of their closet. "Ugh, fine. God, I can't believe she's doing this..."

"Well, she got the flowers," I commented as I walked into his apartment. His eyebrows went up.

"And?"

"And when are you going to apologize in person?"

"Carly, I've texted, I've called, I've emailed..."

"And it's not good enough!" I replied. "Quit trying to be so damn tough! I want you to get over your anger problems, I want you guys to get back together, I want MY boyfriend back!"

"Yeah," he responded softly. "I heard you guys break up in the hallway. Sounded pretty intense."

"It was," I replied.

"How can you be so cool about all of this? Your exboyfriend has a thing for your best friend, MY wife!"

I shrugged. "I love both of them. I want them to be happy. If Brad wants Sam..." I trailed off, shrugging again.

Freddie was quiet for a moment. "Do you think Sam will really go for it?"

"I don't know."

"Does she still love me, at all?"

"Yes, of course she does! She loves you to death, Freddie! But you REALLY hurt her!"

"I know," he responded, sighing. "And I don't know what else to do to make it up to her."

"You have to CHANGE! You were the knight in shining armor until you got knocked off your horse, now you're just an asshole, trying desperately to hang onto that whole white knight thing. And that's OVER, Freddie. Yeah, you rescued her. Like a real-life fairytale! But you know something?"

"What?"

"When we were little, and our parents used to tell us fairytales, they never told us what happened after the knight rescued the princess. They told us that they lived happily ever after, but they never told us what we had to do to get to happily ever after."

"So how do I that?"

I shook my head uncertainly. "I don't know. You have to figure that part out for yourself. There's a lot more to love than slaying dragons and fighting monsters."

"I know," he replied sadly.

"And in this case, Brad's not the monster. Now he's the knight."

"Then who's the monster?" he responded as I walked toward the door. I turned around and glared at him.

"You are."


	72. Chapter 72: I've Lost My Little Girl

**A/N: Try to keep an open mind about this one, at least where Brad and Sam are concerned. Also, just to put it out there, I'm being accused of ripping off a certain fic...that I've never read. Sure would be hard for me to rip off something I've never read, huh? On with the show!**

**Chapter Seventy Two:  
><strong>**I Lost My Little Girl **

~*Sam*~

"I don't want to do this," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at Brad and Carly.

"Sam, you have to! You're this close to making him cave!" Carly responded.

"No!" I shouted. "We're pushing this too far! I feel like I'm just fucking with him just to fuck with him now! He's going to give up!"

"You're not actually doing anything wrong, you know that, right?" Brad responded.

"Yeah, but..." I trailed off, frowning. "This has gotta be killing him. I can't go on a date with you, even if it's just pretend."

"Sam," Carly stated with a roll of her eyes. "How competitive is Freddie?"

"Ridiculously competitive," I responded with an eyeroll of my own. "Almost as bad as me."

"And we're trying to tug on that thread a little bit," Brad replied.

"But..." I started, then stopped myself, giving Brad a pointed look. He just shook his head. Ugh. We couldn't talk about this, not in front of Carly.

What was going on in my head right now? I LOVED Freddie, and Carly was my best friend! But Brad just seemed to get this whole thing. He seemed like he wanted better for me. I didn't know what to do. What if one of us, or both of us, just snapped? I never thought in a million years I'd be attracted to Brad! But then again, I never thought in a million years I'd be attracted to Freddie either. Was I really that screwed up? Was I just like my mom, hopping from guy to guy without a thought or concern about their feelings?

I mean, it was my fault Freddie's car got messed up. BOTH times. That's what hurt so bad. He'd been right. This entire thing was my fault. I was screwing his life up. I didn't care what anyone said, I was absolutely ruining his life, and he would be better off without me. Because of me, Freddie wasn't even in Ridgeway anymore. I hoped he wasn't falling behind in his studies. I hoped he was remembering to take his meds and eat right. I hoped he was getting enough sleep.

I didn't worry about Brad the way I worried about Freddie. And it wasn't because I thought Freddie couldn't take care of himself, because I knew he could. It was because I LOVED him. I looked over at Brad, thinking carefully. I didn't love him. Not like that. He was a good friend who happened to be very attractive. That's all. I LOVED Freddie. There were no bones about it. But I wasn't sure if I deserved him. Still though...I COULDN'T be without him.

"Okay," I said softly. "I'll do it."

We were ripped out of our conversation by a loud knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Carly called.

"IT'S FREDDIE! I HAVE TO TALK TO SAM!"

Carly looked over at us. "You may not have to," she said softly. "Brad...disappear!"

Brad nodded, before scrambling up the stairs.

Oh god. I hadn't even seen Freddie in three days. My heart was pounding. My head was spinning. I didn't know if I could do this. Not without caving.

"Just let him in, Carly," I said softly, and she nodded, before walking to the front door and unlocked it. Freddie walked in a moment later, and my breath caught in my throat.

God, he was gorgeous. Even though he looked ridiculously depressed, he was beautiful. His eyes looked so sad. I just wanted to grab him and kiss that horrible look off his face. But I couldn't do that. I had to be strong.

"Hey," I said softly.

"Hi," he responded. "Can we talk?"

I nodded. "So talk."

He looked over at Carly. "Uh, can we talk in private?"

I shrugged. "It's Carly's apartment."

"I'll be upstairs," Carly replied. "Be nice. Both of you." With that, she ascended up the staircase, leaving me and Freddie staring at each other.

"I miss you," he said softly.

"I miss you too," I replied.

"Then why are you doing this to me, Sam? I said I was sorry! You know I can't keep control of my mouth when I'm upset!"

"That's the problem, Freddie! You don't think about what comes out of your mouth! You don't think about the damage it causes! And then you just expect me to deal with it...and you act like I owe you or something!"

"No, I don't!" he replied. "Sam, please!"

"You just don't get it!" I cried. "You made me feel like shit! I'm sorry I caused so much drama in your life, but you could have BOWED OUT! You didn't have to go through with it! I tried to leave, remember? You came after ME. It's not fair that you keep rubbing it in my face!"

"I'm not rubbing it in your face! I was upset!" he argued.

I shook my head. "When's the last time I slapped you?"

"I don't remember," he replied, and I nodded fervently.

"Exactly! I don't do that anymore! I changed! You didn't! You keep saying mean things, you keep hurting me, and half the time you don't even realize! Nothing's going to change unless you do!"

"Sam!" he yelled. "You're being ridiculous!"

"Oh my god!" Carly yelled from up the stairs. "You're such an idiot!"

"CARLY!" I yelled, before turning back to Freddie. "So I'm ridiculous, huh? Guess you don't want a ridiculous wife!"

"No, Sam, I didn't mean it like that!" he said, a pained expression on his face. "Please!"

"Just get out!" I yelled. "I don't want to talk to you anymore!"

"No, baby, please..." he said, and I cut him off with a raise of my hand.

"LEAVE!"

Freddie sighed sadly. "Fine."

"By the way, guess who asked me out?"

He stared at me, shocked. "Please, don't do this..."

I shrugged. "I'm weighing my options. Maybe Brad and I are a better match." God, why was I doing this?

"No, he's not right for you! He can't love you the way I do!"

"And how do you know that, Freddie?"

Freddie crossed the room quickly, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me to him, his mouth pressing against mine urgently. I gasped against his mouth, gripping his arms tightly. Oh god, I missed being in his arms. I didn't want to be anywhere else. I moaned as I felt his hand go into my hair, holding my head steady, kissing me passionately, and I felt my knees buckle. If he hadn't been holding me up I would have fallen over! Oh god, going to cave! And then, just like that, he pulled away.

"Because he can't make you weak like that," he responded, biting his bottom lip. "Go out with him if you like. But I'm not giving up."

"Freddie..." I said weakly, and he just shook his head.

"Have fun on your date. I love you, Sam." With that, he opened the front door and walked out.

"Oh my god," I breathed. I didn't even have the strength to walk over to the couch, I just sat down on the floor in shock. Oh god. He was right. Nobody could make me feel the way Freddie did. Carly and Brad came downstairs a moment later.

"Sam, are you alright?" Carly asked, and I shook my head.

"No," I replied.

"Well that was intense," Brad commented. "Ready to step the game up a little bit?"

I put my head in my hands. "Remind me why we're doing this."

"If he pulled that just at the thought of you being with someone else, what do you think his next move will be?" Brad replied.

I looked up at Brad, weighing my options, before standing up. "Okay. Let's do this."

~*Brad*~

"So how long is this supposed to go on for?" Sam asked me, and I shrugged.

"No idea."

"So are you sure Carly's cool with all of this?"

"Uh, I think we both know Carly well enough to know when she's pretending and when she's not. She's cool with it."

This was so damn weird. On a fake date. With Sam. We knew we had to get out of Bushwell, but we didn't know where to go, just that my car had to be gone, because Freddie would definitely be checking. We'd ended up just going to the park, and we were just sitting on the swings, talking. I wished we hadn't had that conversation the other day, because now things were awkward between us. Really, really awkward. I kept thinking to myself that being alone with Sam was a very, very bad idea.

Sam nodded at what I'd said. "I hope so. I don't want her to think something's going on. Because nothing's going on."

"Right," I replied. "Nothing."

We were both silent again for a few minutes, until Sam spoke up again.

"Have you ever cheated on a girl before, Brad?" Sam asked, and I shook my head.

"Nope. I've been cheated on though, and it sucks. So I'd never do it. What about you?"

Sam snorted. "I've never really seriously dated anyone. Not even Freddie. We just jumped into the whole marriage thing. But I'd never cheat."

We were both silent for a second. "This seems to be coming up a lot lately."

"Yeah," she replied. "I just don't want you to get the wrong idea."

"Sam!" I scolded her. "I don't have the wrong idea! I know the score! And I love Carly, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. But people make mistakes," she replied, swinging back and forth. I reached out and grabbed the chain of her swing, jerking her to a stop.

"You're getting at something," I stated, staring at her. "What are you getting at?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I'm so confused."

"About what?" I still hadn't let go of her swing, and I didn't even notice that I'd kept pulling her even closer to me, until she was only a few inches from me.

"What if it'd be better if Freddie and I split up? He could go back to his normal life."

"And what would you do?" I replied, and she shrugged.

"I don't really care about me."

"Well you should," I replied. "And you know damn well Freddie couldn't go back to normal. If you guys split up for real it'd break him."

"He could find someone better," she replied. "Brad?"

"Yeah?" I didn't like where this was going. Not one bit.

"You really love Carly?"

"SAM! You know I do!" I replied. "With everything in me!"

"Then why do you stare at me? Why are you so invested in my life? Why did you admit you were attracted to me?"

"Because I am," I responded simply. "But it doesn't mean anything."

"What would you do if I kissed you right now?" She leaned forward, and I stood up suddenly. RED LIGHT! This has gone too far!

"You think I can't see what you're doing?" I growled. "Because I can."

"And what's that, Brad?" she replied, standing up, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You are trying to sabotage your own relationship because you think you don't deserve to be happy. And you're scared this isn't going to work, you're scared he's gonna break your heart, and you want to get it over with first!"

Sam stared at me in shock, and I knew I'd hit the nail on the head.

"But you're not gonna do it through me," I replied. I turned to walk towards my car, then stopped in my tracks, turning back around to face her. "Sam, dammit! You can't do this! You can't do this to me or Carly or Freddie! You can't do this to yourself!"

"I don't know what to do!" she cried out in frustration. "I'm so fucking screwed up! And I've screwed him up! I can't keep putting him through all of this!"

"You know what?" I replied, glaring at her and taking a deep breath. Oh god, this better go the way I want it to. I was going to be upfront and honest with Carly the minute I got back to Bushwell, but I had to do this to prove a point.

"What, Brad? What?" she snapped, and before the girl knew what was happening, I'd grabbed her by the back of the head, kissing her intensely, pressing up against her. Not even three seconds passed before she shoved me off of her and took a few steps back.

"OH MY GOD!" she yelled. "Oh my...what...why did you do that?"

"You didn't like that very much, did you?" I responded, and she shook her head.

"No! What the hell is wrong with you?" she shrieked.

"You know why you didn't like it? Because I'm not Freddie!" I yelled, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "SNAP OUT OF IT, SAM! You love him, now do what you gotta do to make him realize his mistakes so he can change! Because as soon as he does that, he's gonna stop making you feel shitty, and you're gonna stop doubting your entire relationship! It's all connected!"

"I...okay...I'm having trouble processing this. I'm still going over you KISSING ME!" She yelled.

"Did you feel anything?" I asked her, and she just stood there, silent.

"No," she said finally. "I didn't feel a thing."

"Guess what?" I responded. "Me neither."

We both stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, trying to read the other's thoughts, before we both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank god," Sam replied. I nodded. I was being honest, I hadn't felt a thing when I kissed her. No butterflies, no electricity, nothing. There was absolutely no chemistry between us whatsoever, and I couldn't have been happier about it. I'd been agonizing over the issue for days, and now we both knew for a fact. Nothing could ever happen. Nothing would ever happen. There was nothing to happen! As Sam had said, thank God. Now we really could go over the plan without worry of anything else happening.

"I need to go talk to Carly," I groaned.

"Wait, you're gonna tell Carly?" Sam asked. "She's gonna freak!"

"I don't care! I don't keep secrets from Carly. And when I explain to her WHY...maybe she'll understand."

"Why did you kiss me?" she replied. "I'm a little curious myself."

"Number one, we got it out of the way, so there's no more questions. Number two, it's obvious. You don't want anyone touching you who's not Freddie."

"You're right, I don't," she said softly.

"If you love someone that much, then it's worth fighting for. With everything you have in you. Do not give up," I responded. "Come on, we gotta get back."

"Don't ever kiss me again," she stated, glaring at me.

"Believe me, I won't. There's no reason to." I paused. "But you're still hot."

"You're not so bad yourself," she grumbled. "But you're not Freddie."

"And you're not Carly," I replied. "Come on, let's go."

~*Carly*~

"I can't take this anymore!" Freddie yelled at me. "Please tell me what to do!"

"For starters, you can calm down," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "That's what the whole problem is. You and your stupid tough guy issue."

Freddie sighed, flopping down on his bed and staring at the ceiling. "I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get her back."

"Well, stop talking about it, and just DO IT!" I yelled. "And you'd better get a move on, she's out with BRAD right now!"

"Aargh!" Freddie yelled. "I can't take this anymore!"

"You're really freaked out about the idea of Brad being with Sam, aren't you?" I said softly, and he nodded. My phone beeped, and I looked down at it, noticing the alarm had gone off. "Freddie, take your shot."

"At least one of my friends still cares enough to not let me die," he grumbled, sitting up.

"Sam's the one who put it in my phone, Freddie," I replied.

"She did?" Freddie asked, and I nodded.

"Look, I gotta go," I said, standing up. "Homework."

"Wait!" Freddie replied, leaping to his feet and reaching in his nightstand drawer, fishing something out. "Give her this!" It was a letter. "Please?"

"I will," I replied, squeezing his shoulder. "Keep the faith. Don't give up."

"I'm never going to give up," he replied softly.

I gave him one more encouraging smile before leaving his apartment and going back to mine. I opened the door, and noticed Brad and Sam were sitting on the couch, waiting for me. They had very solemn expressions on their faces, staring on the ground. Uh-oh. Something was wrong.

"Hey guys," I said. "What's going on? Sam, Freddie gave me this to give to you." I handed the letter to Sam, and then looked over at Brad. "What's up?"

"Carly, we gotta talk," Brad said softly. Sam stood up quickly.

"I'm gonna go upstairs," she said. Before I could even protest, Sam had run up the stairs at top speed. Oh god. What was going on?

"Brad, you're freaking me out. What's wrong?"

"Carly, don't be mad at me."

"Why? What did you do?" I looked at the stairs where Sam had just recently been, and then back at Brad, and my heart dropped.

"Okay, babe, it's not what you think. Just listen to everything I have to say before you freak out, okay?"

"Okay."

"Sam was having doubts about whether or not she and Freddie really belonged together."

"But that's crazy!" I exclaimed. "Of course they do."

"Yeah, I know. But listen. She started freaking out, talking about ending it...and...just to see how she'd react, make herself see how she'd react...I kissed her."

"WHAT?"

"For like two seconds! And she pushed me away, and freaked out, and that's when she figured out she didn't want anyone but Freddie kissing her."

"Brad!" I yelled, standing up. "What...why...how could you...oh my god!"

"Carly, wait!" Brad yelled, standing up too. "I love you! I didn't do it for any selfish reason, or a desire to hurt you, even a desire to get with her! I did it to make her realize she couldn't end things with Freddie, because she wouldn't be able to handle being with anyone else!"

I stared at him, arms crossed over my chest.

"Say something!" he pleaded.

"I am SO mad at you!" I yelled. "Do you like her? Is that what this whole thing is about?"

"No!" He cried. "Do I think Sam's attractive? Yes. Do I think you're MORE attractive? Yes! Baby, I didn't feel anything, and neither did she! I just didn't want to lie to you."

I huffed, glaring at him. "Get your ass upstairs."

"What? Why?" he asked.

"To remind you WHY you're with me and not her!" I yelled. "You ever kiss another girl again, I'll kill you! Got it?"

"Yes," he replied. "I'm so sorry baby. It meant nothing."

"After this whole thing gets back to normal, we're taking a break from Sam and Freddie. They need to fix their problems, and we need to fix ours. This weird creepy foursome thing has gone on long enough," I said, before grabbing him by his shirt collar and kissing him fiercely. "Did you feel anything from that?"

"What do you think?" he responded, grabbing my hand and putting it on his crotch. My eyes widened when I realized how turned on he was.

"Let's go," I replied, grabbing his hand and yanking him upstairs. "Sam, get out of my room!"


	73. Chapter 73: We Can Work It Out

**A/N: And now, what you have all been waiting for! This is quite an emotional chapter, just to warn you! And can I just say, thank you guys sooo much for your awesome reviews and coming to my defense. Normally I don't throw this kind of thing out there, but a certain someone disabled the reply feature. If I can't defend myself privately, I'll do it in public. Holla!**

**Chapter Seventy Three:  
>We Can Work It Out<strong>

~*Sam*~

I couldn't stop reading the letter Freddie had given me over and over, even though I'd committed the entire thing to memory. I'd been staring at it for hours, just laying on the couch while Brad and Carly were upstairs doing their thing.

It sounded odd, but I was glad Brad kissed me. It'd taken all doubts out of my mind about whether or not being with Freddie was the right thing. It was. Kissing Brad made me realize that nobody could make me feel the way my husband did. Freddie was right, he couldn't make me weak. But Freddie did.

I sighed, reading over the letter again.

'Dear Sam,

I miss you so much. You're all I ever think about. The idea of losing you is really, really scary to me, and I'll do whatever you need me to do to keep you in my life. I'll do my best to NEVER hurt you again. Baby, please don't give up on me. I can't live without you. I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I made you feel like you owe me. Because I don't think that. If anything I owe you, you're the best thing that ever happened to me, even though it was horrible circumstances that threw us together. I chased after you before, and I'm never going to stop chasing after you.

I know I have issues controlling my anger. I hate being weak. It makes me feel like I deserve you less, but then I just screw up and yell at you, and then I really don't deserve you. But I'm going to work on it. Anything you want me to do, I'll do it. I love you. I love you more than anything, more than anyone. You are everything to me. Please don't give up on me. Please don't give up on us.

Love Always,

Freddie.'

"Ugh," I moaned, rolling over and burying my face in the couch. Why did I have to wait for him to cave? He'd sent me flowers, notes, texts, an endless string of voicemails...and that kiss. Oh my god, that kiss. I'd almost lost it then and there.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a knock at the door, and I stared at the door nervously. It was after midnight, it could only be one person.

"Who is it?" I called.

"It's Freddie."

Oh god! I couldn't hold out any longer! I got up off the couch, taking a deep breath, and walked over to the door, opening it. Oh god, he was just playing dirty now, wearing only a wifebeater and that pair of dark jeans I loved him in. The boy knew exactly what he was doing, and damn he was doing it well!

"Hi," I managed to squeak out.

"Hi," he replied. "So how was your date?"

Ugh...date. What a joke. I tried to go along with the plan, not give in. "Um, it was good..." I trailed off.

"Sam, do you like Brad?" Freddie asked me pointedly. I almost shook my head no, but then I remembered I was playing a game. The whole point was to see if he'd lash out at me if he got upset. I shrugged.

"I dunno. He's nice."

"He's a dipwad," Freddie responded, and I rolled my eyes.

"I see some things never change," I replied. "At least he can control his anger."

"Just not his hormones," Freddie growled.

"You seem upset," I commented, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I am! You went on a date with someone else!" he replied.

"You mad at me?" I asked, and he took a deep breath. I could tell he was trying to hold back. "Well?"

"No," he finally said. "I guess I deserve it."

Oh god! Why why why? This was so hard! How was I supposed to know when he actually caved for real and meant it? I could see how hurt and upset he was. He looked down at the ground for a second and sucked in a gasp of air, before looking back up at me.

"Did you...did anything happen?"

Aah! What do I do? I couldn't lie to him, but...oh god. I hesitated, and he shook his head.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said sadly. "I'm sorry, I can't deal with this right now. I feel like I might snap." He sounded so calm, but I knew he was burning on the inside. I could see it in his eyes. "Good night, Sam." He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead, before walking across the hall and opening his door.

"Wait, Freddie!" I called.

"I love you," he called over his shoulder, and shut the door.

I closed Carly's apartment door, leaning my forehead against it, before bursting into tears.

Oh god, what had I done?

~*Freddie*~

Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! I wanted to rip Brad's head off! Something had happened between him and Sam! I didn't know what it was, and I didn't want to ask. The idea of him laying one hand on her sent me into a rage.

But that wasn't going to help me get Sam back. I feared nothing would. I started going through my head, trying to think back to all the stuff I'd said to her that could have hurt her feelings, and I groaned. God, there was so much of it. I didn't even think about it at the time, but now it was all I could think about. The way she knitted her eyebrows together and her chin jutted out when she was upset. She did that a LOT, and I'd just brushed it off. Why hadn't I ever noticed it before?

Why was I such a dick?

I didn't know what else to do! I'd done everything I could think of! I'd apologized a hundred different times! What else was there? What if I couldn't change? I loved her. I didn't want to hurt her anymore. I just wanted her to be happy.

I sat down on the couch almost in shock as it finally hit me.

I loved her. I just wanted her to be happy.

With or without me.

~*Sam*~

"Sam, it's okay," Carly said, rubbing my back as I sat on the couch and cried. Again. This was happening too much.

"It's not! He thinks something happened between me and Brad, and now he's given up!"

"Something did happen!" Carly responded with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Carly, that's not helping right now," Brad commented, and Carly glared at him.

"Maybe a kiss would make her feel better?"

"Well then go ahead and lay it on her then! I'd rather kiss my sister!" Brad snapped, and Carly rolled her eyes. I just groaned, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

"I don't wanna do this anymore!" I cried. "I don't care what you guys say! He's been punished enough. And now I'm being punished. It hurts being away from him! Do you hear me? It physically hurts me? I would go every day the rest of my life getting the shit beat out of me if it meant I got to be with him! I would deal with anything! I love him!"

"Who do you love more, yourself, or him?" Carly asked me gently.

"HIM!" I cried. "And I don't care what you think about that! I know it's not healthy, but I don't care! I'm not healthy! He's not healthy! But I'm nothing without him! I can't do this!"

I nearly jumped three feet in the air when the front door flung open.

"Freddie!" I exclaimed, scrambling to my feet. "What..."

"I gotta talk to you," he said. I watched as his eyes left me and fixated on Brad. "What the fuck is HE doing here?"

"And here we go," Carly groaned, standing up. "Freddie, did you come here to talk to Sam or kick Brad's ass?"

Freddie continued to glare at Brad, who just returned the glare.

"You wanna take a swing, go right ahead," Brad said, and Carly whirled around, glaring at him.

"Brad, shut up! Go over there!"

Brad rolled his eyes, before stalking across the living room and plopping down on the stairs, arms crossed over his chest. I looked back at Freddie.

"You were just here twenty minutes ago," I commented.

"Yeah," he replied. "I was. But I have to tell you something."

"Okay," I responded. Freddie's eyes drifted over to Carly and Brad, obviously not wanting an audience, before waving them off, like he didn't care whether they were in the room or not.

"I love you," he said, walking towards me until he was only about two feet from me. So close I could reach out and touch him. "I'm sorry I hurt you. You deserve better. I just want you to be happy. If you wanna be with him, that's fine. I just want you to be happy. If you want to divorce me, go ahead." He paused, looking down at the ground, before looking up at me, his bottom lip trembling. "But please don't!" he said in a choked voice.

"Freddie, I..." I started, but he cut me off, grabbing my hands.

"Baby, I love you, I'm sorry! I can't live without you! I don't want to even try! There is no me without you! Nobody could ever make me feel like you do, and I just threw it away!" He had given up his composure by now, and he was full-on crying, not caring if Brad and Carly were right there.

My jaw dropped when he fell down on his knees, his arms going around my legs. "Please baby. Please don't leave me! I'm begging you! Please, please god please! Don't do this! I love you, I can't live without you! I'm sorry! Baby, I'm so sorry! Don't...don't leave me!"

"Freddie, let go of me," I said softly, and he shook his head fervently, holding onto me even tighter.

"NO! I won't let go! I can't! I will NEVER let go! Please baby, just take me back! I need you, just take me back! Please! Please don't leave me! Please..."

I looked over at Brad and Carly helplessly and then down at my sobbing, absolutely hysterical husband. Oh god! He broke! He didn't just break, he shattered! I looked back up Carly and Brad again, and they were waving their arms back and forth toward me, both of them mouthing "GO! DO IT!"

I looked back down at Freddie, who had given up on words and was just crying now. This was what Brad and Carly were talking about. THIS was the moment. I couldn't take it anymore. I reached down, pulling his arms off me.

"Sam..." he gasped helplessly. "Please, baby!"

I knelt down on the ground in front of him, wiping the tears off his face. A lot of good that did, fresh ones kept pouring out to replace the ones I'd just wiped away. God, even when he was crying he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever laid eyes on. He just stared at the ground sadly, and my hand went to his chin, tilting it up to look at me.

"Baby," I said softly. "It's over."

"No," he cried, shaking his head. "Please, no."

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. It's over. This fight, me staying at Carly's, it's all over. I love you, I can't stay away from you anymore. You're only the one I want."

He gaped at me, gasping a bit. "Really?"

I nodded again. Christ, now I was crying. I am such a wuss! "Really, baby. I love you."

He let out a deep breath, like he'd been holding his breath this entire time. "I love you so much, Sam!" With that, his hands went to my face before kissing me softly. My arms went around his neck as I kissed him back, sighing with relief that the worst three days of my life were finally over. Oh god, it felt so good to kiss him, to be in his arms. We were both still crying. Jeez, and we said Brad and Carly were saps!

We finally managed to pull apart long enough to stand up, and he pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly, kissing me on the forehead. I looked over at Brad and Carly to see them high-fiving each other and rolled my eyes, before turning my attention back to Freddie, leaning against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. I missed that sound so much.

"Aww!" Carly said. "Finally!"

"Yeah, it's about damn time!" Brad added.

Freddie looked over at Brad and Carly, Brad with his arm around Carly's shoulders, and Carly's arms around Brad's waist, and then back down at me, a perplexed expression on his face.

"What...what's going on? I'm really confused," he said, still not letting go of me.

"Nothing gets a guy's ass in gear faster than the thought he might lose his girl to another dude," Brad responded with a roll of his eyes. "I'm actually a little disappointed you played into it so well."

"Wait, what?" Freddie exclaimed. "So...you and Carly..."

"We're still together," Carly replied, grabbing Brad by the back of the head and kissing him. "We never split up." They broke apart, and then walked down the stairs, Carly sitting on a barstool and Brad just standing there.

"So you never really had a thing for Sam?"

"No," Brad replied. "I never pursued the girl! She's your WIFE! And my girl's best friend. And you're my best friend! What kind of asshole does that?"

"Well..." Freddie trailed off, still perplexed. "I..I thought you were the kind of asshole that did that."

Brad shrugged. "I may be an asshole, but not THAT kind of asshole. Just had to teach you a lesson, dude."

"What? You guys bamboozled me!" Freddie exclaimed.

"Are you mad?" I asked, looking up at him, and he sighed.

"No, I guess not." He paused, looking at Brad. "I just wanna know one thing."

"Yeah?"

"Did anything happen between you and Sam? I want the truth!"

Brad and I shot worried looks at each other, and I looked over at Carly, who simply rolled her eyes. She still wasn't very happy with me OR Brad, but she was at least trying to be understanding.

"Something happened, didn't it?" Freddie asked. "I can tell!"

"Okay, fine. You want the truth?" Brad asked.

Oh god, Freddie was going to kill him! So much for anger management.

"Yeah, I just said that!"

"Okay," Brad replied. "Tonight, Sam was freaking out, she was wondering if you'd be better off without her, wondering if she should just call it quits so you could have a chance at a normal life. So, to make her see that she couldn't give up, and absolutely couldn't deal with being with anyone else, just to knock some sense into her, I kissed her."

Freddie let go of me and before I could even pull him back, balled up his fist and brought it right across Brad's face, hitting him in the cheekbone.

"OW!" Brad hollered. "Fuck!" He sighed, his hand holding his face. "Guess I deserved that."

"You think?" Freddie said, glaring at him.

"Does that make you feel better?" Brad snapped, and Freddie shrugged.

"Yeah, it does actually. I feel a lot better. Actually, now I'm good."

Carly and I glanced at each other, worriedly, expecting the two of them to start full-on fighting any second. I was so shocked I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when Brad shrugged.

"Okay," he responded.

"What?" Carly and I yelled.

"Ugh, boys!" Carly said with a roll of her eyes, standing up. "I'll get the ice." She went to her freezer, pulling an ice pack out and handing it to Brad, before sitting back down on the stool.

"I just wanna know something else," Freddie said, staring Brad down. Uh-oh. Maybe it wasn't over.

"Okay. What do you wanna know?"

"Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me you're not attracted to Sam?"

Brad shook his head. "No," he responded simply. "Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me you're not attracted to Carly?"

I looked over at Freddie, then at Carly, then back at Freddie, waiting for his response.

"No," Freddie replied. "I can't."

"What?" I cried, and Freddie turned around, looking at me.

"You're telling me you don't think Brad's hot?"

Oh god, everyone was getting put on the spot!

"Uh, well...yeah, I guess so," I muttered, looking at the floor.

"OH MY GOD!" Carly yelled. "This is getting weird!"

"Carly!" Brad yelled, pointing at her, not even turning around. She froze, and he turned to face her. "Is Freddie hot?"

"What?" Carly responded. "I can't answer that!"

"Come on, be honest. I've seen the old webcasts, Freddie done grown up real nice, hasn't he?"

"Brad..." she whined, kicking her legs back and forth and staring at the ground.

"Is Freddie hot, yes or no?"

"Yes!" she shouted, glaring at him. "He's hot, okay? What's your point?"

"My point is, none of us have a right to get pissed! If we do, it's gonna destroy everything! Everyone thinks everyone's hot!" Brad exclaimed.

"Everyone?" Freddie asked, making a face, and Brad pointed at him, shaking his head.

"Dude, don't start with me, I'm hetero all the way."

"Just checking," Freddie responded with a shrug.

"So are we cool now?" Brad asked. "You understand why I did what I did?"

Freddie sighed, rolling his eyes a bit. "Yeah, I guess. But don't pull that shit again, man!"

"Don't be an ass to Sam anymore, and I won't have to," Brad replied. Freddie turned around to look at me, pulling me into his arms and kissing me.

"I will never, ever hurt this girl again," he replied, kissing me on the side of my head. I sighed happily, laying my head on his chest. The only place in the world I wanted to be.

"So..." Brad trailed off, looking at the ground, and Freddie stepped away from me. Awkward male friend makeup time! "Bros?"

"Yeah, we're good," Freddie responded with a smirk. They both stared at each other awkwardly for a second before doing that weird male handshake-hug thing.

"Now kiss and make up!" I yelled.

"For ten seconds!" Carly added.

"With tongue!" I finished, and the boys pulled apart, glaring at me. I just grinned at Freddie, throwing my arms around him and kissing him.

"So, do you guys wanna..." Carly started.

"Nope!" Freddie cut her off, dragging me out the door.

Oh man, everything was back to the way it should be. We all knew a little bit too much about each other, but still, life was good. And as Freddie opened our apartment door and pulled me inside, shutting it and then pressing me against the door, kissing me passionately, I knew there was no place on earth I'd rather be.

~*Freddie*~

"I love you," I murmured as I kissed over the soft skin of Sam's neck, groaning a bit as she arched into me, her hands gripping my hair. God, I missed this. So much. I was terrified I'd never be able to be like this with her again. I never wanted to be with anyone else.

"I love you too," she gasped. "I missed this. I missed you."

"I missed us," I responded, before kissing her passionately.

"So did I," she replied after she tore her mouth away from mine to kiss over my neck. "Take me to bed."

I didn't respond, just picked her up, groaning as she wrapped her legs around me and continued to kiss and nibble at my neck. I laid her down on the bed, pulling at her shirt until it went over her head, before kissing her again, trailing my mouth down over her jaw, her earlobe, her neck. I went lower, kissing and licking over her collarbone, and she gasped, her hands reaching down to yank my shirt off.

"Please, don't ever leave me," I begged as I kissed over her skin.

"Don't ever hurt me," she responded, and I moved back up to kiss her mouth, her soft, beautiful, sweet mouth. God, I missed her so much.

"I'll never hurt you again," I replied. "You can beat me senseless if I do."

"Never," she replied, arching her back a little so I could reach under her to unhook her bra, pulling it off and kissing over her skin, going lower and lower until my mouth covered her breast. She cried out, gripping my shoulders tightly. "Ah!" she moaned. "Oh, baby. I missed you so much..."

I didn't respond, just continued exploring her skin with my mouth. God, she was so beautiful, so perfect, her skin was so soft, she was absolutely amazing, and she was an absolute saint for putting up with me. I kissed down even lower until I reached the waistband of her jeans, making quick work of unbuttoning them and pulling them down over her legs, kissing a trail back up her legs, over her stomach, her ribs, back over her gorgeous breasts, licking her collarbone, before kissing her again.

"God, you feel so good," she moaned. "Freddie...I love you so much..." I kissed her again, wiping the tears off her face that had begun to stream down.

"Don't cry," I whispered. "Please."

"I can't help it. I never want to come that close to losing you ever again."

"You won't. I'm never going to give you up. Until the day I die." I couldn't stop kissing her. Over and over. I never wanted this to end.

"Say it again."

"I'm never going to give you up," I replied, kissing her.

"Say you love me," she begged.

"I love you."

"Call me your sweet, sweet baby," she gasped. "Please."

"My sweet, sweet baby," I responded, kissing her neck. "I love you so much. More than you'll ever realize."

"God, I'm sorry it went on this long!" she cried out, her arms going around my neck and pulling me down to her, burying her face in my shoulder. "It was so hard."

"It's okay," I replied, stroking her hair. "You did the right thing. You made me see."

"I love you," she said again, and I kissed her softly.

"I love you, my sweet sweet baby. I'm never gonna let you go."

"Please don't," she whispered.

"Never," I responded, and then went back to the task of kissing her all over. I couldn't get enough of her. It wasn't about teasing her, it wasn't about pumping up my ego...it was all about her, what she wanted. I would give the girl anything she wanted.

"These have to go," she whispered, her hands going to my jeans. I sat up, and she unbuckled my belt before undoing the button and zipper, and I stood up to pull them off quickly, before coming back down over her and kissing her, one hand trailing up and down her side, the other going into her hair. After I'd made love to her I would probably spend the entire night playing with her hair. I missed that. I couldn't even fall asleep without it.

"God, Freddie..." she said. "I need you inside me. Now."

I nodded, kissing her again, my hands going down to the waistband of her underwear and pulling them off. She did the same thing to me, and I went back to kissing her, rubbing against her, trying to drag it out as long as possible. I ground my hips against hers, and slowly but surely slid inside her.

"Ah! Baby..." I hissed. "God, I missed that."

"Ohhh..." she moaned, gripping my shoulders. "God you feel good!"

"I'm gonna take it slow, gorgeous," I told her as I moved against her in a slow grind. "I want this to last."

"Okay," she gasped, burying her face in my neck, kissing me there. My hand went to the back of her head, the other one holding onto her leg, groaning as she wrapped the other leg around my face.

"God, baby..." I groaned. "You feel amazing. I love you so much."

"I love you too," she cried out. "Oh...god...Freddie...baby...aah!"

I picked up my pace a little bit, but not too much. I didn't trust myself to go any faster, she felt so good, it had been six days...I didn't want to go too early, I wanted it to go on for awhile. God, she felt SO good. She felt like heaven.

"Sam..." I moaned, burying my face in her shoulder, moving in slow circles. "God...I love you."

"I..." she gasped a little, and I felt her legs begin to shake a little bit, her body arching underneath me. I pulled away a little bit to lower my head to her breasts, licking and sucking, trying to make her feel as good as she made me feel. "Freddie! Oh god! Baby, this feels so good...aaah! Ohhh...I'm...I'm gonna...god...FREDDIE!" She cried out, and I groaned against her skin as I felt her muscles clench around me, her body shaking uncontrollably.

"God, you're so sexy," I groaned, lifting my head back up to kiss her. "I love you, Sam."

She couldn't speak, she was too lost in the sensations, gripping my shoulders, whimpering. Another carefully aligned thrust, and she let out another loud moan as I felt her climax again. God, I missed this! I missed my sweet, sweet baby so much!

"Freddie..." she moaned. "Baby...oh god...oh god...aaah...oh baby...I love you."

Man, it was getting hard to hold back. I was trying to, but I just couldn't. She felt so good, I had missed her so much, it had been too long. "Sam..." I trailed off, trying in vain to hold back, losing the battle as I felt her run her nails lightly up and down my back. "Damn, baby..."

"It's okay," she whispered. "Let go. I love you. Let go."

"Baby..." I groaned. "Sam...I...damn...baby! SAM!" I shuddered against her as I felt my body spasm, burying my face in her neck. I took a deep, shaky breath, trying to come back down to earth, and I became faintly aware she was still rubbing my back. I lifted my head and kissed her passionately. Her face was wet. She was crying again.

And then, I was too. I laid down next to her on my back, and pulled her to me, sighing happily as she laid her head on my chest. I stroked her hair softly, curling it around my fingers, the other hand going to grab one of hers, interlacing her fingers.

"I love you," she said softly.

"I love you too, baby. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she responded, lifting her head to kiss me softly, and then laying back down. I felt her smile against my chest. "I missed that sound."

"My heart beat?"

"Yeah."

"I missed everything about you."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I can't live without you."

"Neither can I."

"Then I guess we're stuck with each other," I commented, and she looked up at me.

"I'm okay with that."

"Me too, baby."

"So what now?"

"Can we just lay here?"

She nodded against my chest. "That's the only thing I want."


	74. Chapter 74: Baby You're A Rich Man

**A/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday...took a little break. Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter Seventy Four:  
>Baby, You're A Rich Man<strong>

~*Sam*~

My eyes fluttered open as I was brought out of my sleep. I could feel the warmth of Freddie's body at my back, one of his arms under me, and I sighed happily, closing my eyes again.

We hadn't really left our room in the last three days, other than to grab food and shower. We'd barely even left the bed. Managed to get a little bit of school stuff done, but only a very little. The last two days had been complete bliss, especially compared to the four or five days before it. We just laid around, talking about everything and nothing at the same time, the past, the present, the future.

And then there was the sex. Oh my god. The sex. I'd thought our sex life before was absolutely explosive, but it was nothing compared to where we were at now. We couldn't keep our hands...or mouths...to ourselves. It seemed like every two or three hours we'd start going at it again, like we just couldn't get enough of each other. Last night had been the absolute best, he'd kept me up all night, until the sun came up, and now I was absolutely exhausted.

I couldn't get back to sleep though, I could feel Freddie's hand lightly running up and down my side.

"What are you doing?" I asked softly as I felt him push my hair aside to kiss at my neck.

"Nothing," he murmured into my ear, his breath making me shiver. His hand went back to trailing over my hip, my waist, my ribs.

"Doesn't feel like nothing," I responded.

"Sorry," he replied, not sounding sorry at all. "I just like this spot."

"What spot?"

"This curve right here," he said, running fingertips over my hips, then my waist, and back down to my hipbone. "It's sexy."

"You're sexier," I replied, and he laughed softly.

"I doubt that."

"What time is it?" I asked, yawning.

"It's a little after ten. You wanna get up?"

"No," I replied, closing my eyes again. "Go back to sleep."

"Okay."

My eyes popped open again as Freddie continued running his fingers up and down my side. I couldn't help but smile.

"Freddie?"

"Yes?"

"You're not sleeping."

"Nope."

I squirmed a bit. "That tickles."

"Sorry." I felt him shift behind me slightly, and then I felt him kiss my hipbone, trailing over my waist, then my ribcage. Oh, god, that felt good. He continued kissing up my body until he reached my neck, his arm going around me. "That better?"

"Guess you don't want to sleep?"

"Does it feel like I want to sleep?" he responded, grinding his hips into me from behind. I bit my bottom lip when I felt how turned on he was.

"No," I replied. "But it feels like you wanna stay in bed."

"You're a smart girl," he replied, tilting my face towards his and kissing me. I tried to roll over, but his hand went to my hips, holding me still. "Stay like this. Please?"

I didn't respond, just nodded a bit. He resumed kissing my neck, still grinding into me, his hand moving from my hips across my stomach, and then to my breasts. I moaned softly as I felt the arm under me pull me against him closer.

"Do you like this?" he whispered in my ear.

"Mmmhmm. Do you?"

"Yeah...I can touch you everywhere like this."

I gasped as I felt him begin to slide into me. "God...that feels good. But I can't really touch you."

"That's okay. Just let me love you."

Who was I to argue with that? With that, he went back to the task of moving in and out of me, his hands all over me, kissing my neck, my shoulders, my back. It felt so good. The way he felt inside me, his mouth, his hands, the way he made me feel, period.

Sometimes he pissed me off, sometimes he hurt my feelings, and sometimes he just flat-out annoyed me, but he made me feel loved.

Who was I to argue with that?

~*Carly*~

"Have you heard from Freddie?" I asked Brad, who shook his head.

"Nope," he replied. "Have you heard from Sam?"

"No!" I cried. "It's been three days!"

"Carly, I'm sure they're just...in the throes of passion. Makeup sex."

"But...it's been three days!" I repeated. "How many times can they possibly make up?"

Brad gave me a Look. "Seriously? It's Sam and Freddie!"

Well, he was right about that. Before the big fight, they'd tapered off a little bit...but only a little bit. They never could keep their hands off each other, even when it used to mean hitting, poking, prodding...they'd never been able to stop. Now they still couldn't keep their hands off each other, just in a different way. I groaned.

"What?" Brad asked me, and I rolled my eyes.

"What if it gets worse now?" I replied.

"Oh, it's gonna get worse," Brad replied. He gave me a mischievous look and pulled me toward him. "But...I seem to remember a certain someone not being able to keep her hands off me last night, remember?"

I blushed a little bit. I did remember. I felt bad for April, but I was actually glad that she was having crazy morning sickness. It kept Spencer's hands full, meaning he couldn't keep barging in on me and Brad anymore, ruining our fun. And oh man, did we have fun. Lots and lots of fun.

Brad kissed the side of my neck, and I shivered a bit. That was a really sensitive spot for me, he knew it, and he enjoyed messing with me over it.

"Brad!" I squeaked, pushing him away a little. "Not in the hallway."

"Fine," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "So...are we gonna give Spencer the money today?"

"Uh-huh," I responded. "If we can ever pry Sam and Freddie off each other long enough for them to get to the bank."

"So text Sam," Brad replied with a shrug. "I've gotta go, gotta get to class. I love you."

"Love you too," I replied, kissing him quickly, before pulling my phone out to text Sam.

'R U guys ALIVE? Text me or call me after 3 plz!'

I fired off the message to her, before shoving my phone in my backpack and taking off down the hall.

I waited all day for Sam to text me back, but nothing. I texted Freddie, and he didn't respond either! Then I called Sam, and her phone was off. Same with Freddie's. Seriously? They knew today was the day we were supposed to give Spencer the money, and they also knew we had a production meeting today!

"Have you talked to Freddie yet?" I barked at Brad as he came down the school steps. He rolled his eyes.

"Nice to see you too, babe. No, I haven't."

"Okay, let's just go over there."

Brad laughed a little. "Okay, if they're not answering the phone, what makes you think they'll answer the door?"

"Freddie's mom is working nights this whole week, so if we catch her in time, she'll open the door," I replied. "Freddie told me that the other night while you and Sam were on your...date," I said with a roll of my eyes.

Brad rolled his eyes right back at me. "Are you still on that?"

"Yeah, I am," I replied.

Brad sighed, his arms going around me. "Babe, look, I explained to you..."

"I know you explained it to me, we talked about it, and no, I don't want to talk about it again. Let's just go! The show is really starting to slip, and we can't let that happen, especially considering it's now a source of INCOME."

"Fine," Brad replied as we walked toward his car. He unlocked it, then held the passenger door open for me. "Get in."

The whole Brad kissing Sam thing was bugging me a lot more than I was willing to admit. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I knew it meant nothing, I knew Brad loved me, but it didn't change the fact that I was jealous. I wanted Brad to only have eyes for me, even though I knew it wasn't possible. Guys looked, I knew that, I just didn't think he'd be looking at my best friend that way. I was trying not to make a big deal about it, but the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. And it did bother me. A lot.

Of course, it wasn't lost on me that even when he was irritated with me, he still held open doors for me. And I couldn't ignore the fact that once we'd gotten in the car and continued to argue, he still held my hand. He alternated between fussing at me and kissing my hand, which was weird, but sweet. I guess the problem was all in my head.

I'd never had much of a body image issue before, but lately it was all I could think about. I must be losing it; other girls complain all the time about wanting to be thin, and here I was trying to gain weight. I just wanted to have the body of a woman, and not a ten year old boy. But my metabolism was working against me. I could eat the most fattening things alive, en masse, and burn right through it without even gaining an ounce. Other girls would HATE me if they heard me talk like this, but I just wanted curves and hips and an ass and breasts that actually filled out a bra, without having to wear padding. It was ridiculous...no wonder Brad looked at Sam all the time. Even if there was no chemistry between them, he still looked. And it drove me absolutely insane.

But the problem wasn't Brad, he couldn't help it. The problem was ME.

I tried to clear my head as we arrived at our apartment complex and headed for Sam and Freddie's. There were other things to focus on. We had to get the money to Spencer, and do an entire writing session AND rehearsal for iCarly TONIGHT. The show was tomorrow, and we had nothing! This whole relationship drama, on both sides, was taking away from our creativity, productivity, and motivation. And it had to stop, now.

"Try calling one more time," Brad said as we stood outside their apartment door. I pulled my phone out of my bag and quickly dialed Sam, only to meet the voicemail.

"Her phone's off," I said, putting my phone back in my bag.

"His too," Brad responded as he put his phone away. "Okay, fine. You're right, this is ridiculous, they have to face the outside world sometime."

"Yep," I replied, before knocking loudly on the door. A moment later, Marissa answered.

"Hello Carly, Brad. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Sam and Freddie. They're here, right?"

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Yes, they are, but they're in their room." I could tell she was a little annoyed with this whole pretending everyone else had ceased to exist bit they were trying to pull. "I doubt you'll get them to come out."

"Can I just try?" I replied. "We have to rehearse, or we have nothing for iCarly tomorrow. And Brad and I can't do it by ourselves."

"Okay," Marissa responded, opening the door wider. "Be my guest."

"Thanks," I replied, walking in. "Come on Brad."

~*Freddie*~

"Ohh...god...Freddie..."

"Shh," I said, kissing Sam. "I don't think my mom's left yet..."

Sam moaned again, burying her face in my neck. "I'm trying," she gasped. "But you feel so good."

We'd had sex so many times in the last few days I'd actually lost count, and here we were again, and man, I didn't wanna be anywhere else. She felt so good, her legs around my waist, nails digging into my shoulders, writhing underneath me, her soft moans in my ear. God, she drove me crazy. We hadn't been able to keep our hands off each other for days. I figured after the first twelve hours or so, we'd get it out of our systems and go back to normal, but it'd been three days already, and neither one of us seemed willing to stop. Maybe it was the fact that we'd almost actually split up and now we were okay again. Eventually we would have to deal with the outside world, but right now the only person I wanted to be around was Sam.

"Don't stop..." she moaned. "Please..."

"I'm not baby," I responded, kissing her again. "Easy, I got you."

She began grinding against me frantically, and I felt her legs tighten up, like she was right at the edge. I was too, trying desperately to hold back, but I quickly gave up.

"God, Freddie...I...ohhh..."

"Come on baby, come for me...let me feel it..." I groaned. Shit. I was SO CLOSE.

"AAAH! Freddie! I'm almost there!"

"Me too...oh fuck, Sam...shit...I..."

BANG BANG BANG!

"Sam! Freddie! Open the door!"

And then it was gone. It was right there, we were both at the edge, and then all of a sudden, ta-da, here's Carly! Ruining our fun! I buried my face in Sam's shoulder in absolute disbelief, wanting to snap. What happened to staying out of each other's business?

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I growled.

"Oh, my god!" Sam exclaimed. "Seriously? Baby, get up!"

"No! Just pretend we're not here and they'll go away," I whispered in her ear.

"FREDDIE! SAM! I know you're in there, I could hear you guys going at it!"

"Ugh!" I groaned, rolling off Sam and laying on my back, staring at the ceiling, irritated. "I told you try to be quieter."

"It's your fault! If you weren't so damn good at it...wait. What am I saying? I am not complaining about that, don't get any ideas!"

Sam sat up, wrapping the sheet around her and throwing my boxers at me, waiting long enough for me to pull them on, before opening the door.

"Sam!" Carly exclaimed. "What's..."

SLAM! Sam shut the door with a roll of her eyes and walked over to the closet. I looked at her strangely.

"Brad's with her," she explained, and I nodded.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, then put clothes on, for the love of god," I responded. He'd already kissed her and seen my pictures of her, the last thing I needed was for him to get a good look at her in nothing but a sheet. Yeah, Brad and I were cool again, but over my dead body would I EVER let those two be alone together again, and if it were up to me, Sam would be wearing turtlenecks around him!

"You too!" she responded. "And not because of Carly either, if you don't cover yourself up I am not responsible for attacking you in front of people."

I quickly grabbed my t-shirt and jeans off the floor and put them on, and as soon as Sam had finished dressing, she opened the door again.

"Can I help you?" she asked, glaring at Brad and Carly.

"What the hell? You guys have been MIA for almost three days!" Carly exclaimed.

"Um, we...had some making up to do," Sam replied, crossing her arms.

"Aren't you sore?" Carly asked pointedly, and Sam shrugged.

"A little."

"Sam!" I exclaimed. "You said you'd tell me if you were sore!"

"But it's SO worth the little bit of pain," she responded, giving me a sexy smile.

"Okay, enough!" Brad said, holding his hands up. "Time to get to work, people! You can molest each other later."

"This is bullshit," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest, and Carly rolled her eyes.

"Thought you were supposed to be working on your anger issue?"

"I said I'd work on not taking my anger out on Sam. She's not the one I'm mad at," I replied, looking at Carly and Brad pointedly.

"Why are you mad at US?" Carly responded. "It's not our fault you guys have shut out the rest of the world! We have to rehearse, and we only have an HOUR to get to the bank!"

"It's not that, Carly," Sam replied, sitting back down on the bed.

"Then what?"

"Uh...well...if sex were a football game..." Sam began.

"You totally killed the game before the touchdown," I finished with a sigh, laying back.

"Woulda been one hell of a touchdown too," Sam commented, and I nodded.

"Too late now, the quarterback is down."

"Alright, that's enough sports euphemisms! You guys can finish later!" Carly responded. "Get out of bed, get out of this room, be around other people! And we gotta go to the bank!"

"But can't we..." Sam started, but Carly cut her off.

"NO! Get up, you guys!"

"Five minutes!"

I snorted. "Gonna need a lot longer than five minutes. Come on baby, let's go."

"Ugh," Sam whined. "Fine." She stood up, walking over to my dresser and pulling open a drawer, grabbing the checkbook and then an insulin pen, tossing it at me. "Here, baby. Shoot up."

"Please don't say it like that," I replied, making a face. "And why don't you do it for me?"

"Oh god, are we back to that?" Carly responded. Brad walked over to me, grabbing my shirt collar and pulling it down a little bit, and I glared at him, practically growling. Out. Of. Our. Business. Dammit!

"Bite mark," he announced. "Yep, they're back to that."

"What happened to not being involved in our relationship so much?" Sam said, standing up. "We'll be right there, just go sit in the living room for a second."

"Ugh, fine," Brad replied with a roll of his eyes. "Come on Carly." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, and Sam shut the door behind them, turning around to look at me.

"On the one hand, they really shouldn't have just barged in here, but on the other, we have been in here for awhile. And we never did charge our phones. They're probably dead by now," she pointed out.

"True," I replied with a shrug. "Guess we probably should go to the bank. And rehearsal. Just sucks that we got interrupted."

"You sure we don't have time?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Sorry, baby. After we rehearse though..." I raised my eyebrows at her suggestively, and she grinned.

"You better," she replied, walking over to the bed and shoving me onto my back, before yanking my shirt up. "Be still."

~*Brad*~

I rolled my eyes in pure annoyance at Sam and Freddie before giving both of them a shove.

"Number one, no making out in the bank. Number two, the line's moving."

Freddie glared at me, before turning back to Sam and kissing her again. I looked at Carly in disbelief.

The state those two had been in a few months ago paled in comparison to the way they were acting today. I was surprised they didn't just start doing it in the middle of the bank! This was ridiculous! I bet the bank could have caught on fire and they wouldn't have even noticed. I grabbed Carly's arm, pulling her to me.

"Don't you start too," she warned me as I bent my head down to whisper in her ear.

"I'm not, babe. Why don't you hang out with Sam a little bit tonight, so I can actually convince Freddie to go to the gym with me? We haven't been since before Thanksgiving."

Carly shrugged. "Okay. But you really wanna get in a ring with the guy who's wife you kissed three days ago? He might still be pissed."

"I dunno, we'll find out, and maybe I'd like to get him back for that punch to the face the other night. I was just trying to help."

"You have an odd way of helping," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"And so do you, nosy," I reminded her, poking her in the ribs. "I'm never gonna be able to hang out with Freddie one-on-one if I can't get him away from Sam."

"Aw, does Brad miss his boyfriend?" Carly teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"Never mind," I responded, letting go of her and turning around.

"No, wait! I'm kidding, baby. I'll do it. I'm sure I can find something to occupy Sam for a little while."

"Ham?"

"You read my mind," she replied with a grin. I gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, before turning back around, and then groaning. Again, REALLY?

"Line's moving again!" I said, taking a step forward and giving Freddie and Sam another push.

~*Sam*~

"Are you sure we can't wait to give Spencer the money?" I asked everyone as we walked through the lobby and headed to the elevator.

"Why?" Carly responded with a confused look on her face.

I shrugged. "I just wanted to roll around in a big pile of money, that's all. I mean, this is all 20's...how many 20's are here anyway?"

"Two hundred and fifty," Freddie responded, and we all turned to look at him. "What?"

"Did you just do that in your head?" I asked.

"Uh-huh. Why?"

I shook my head, smirking a bit. "You're so damn smart."

"Eh," he responded. "It's simple math."

"Quit being modest, baby," I responded, putting my arms around him and kissing him. He kissed me back, groaning against my mouth slightly, and I felt his hips press against mine.

"And they're starting it up AGAIN!" Carly exclaimed. "When does the honeymoon phase wear off anyway?"

I just rolled my eyes, pulling Freddie onto the elevator with me.

"So...Freddie..." Brad trailed off, looking down at his sneakers. Things were still a little awkward between Freddie and Brad, I hoped it would stop soon so we could go back to normal.

"Yeah?" Freddie replied.

"You know, it's been awhile since we've been to the gym..."

"Yeah." I rolled my eyes and elbowed Freddie in the ribs. "Oof! I mean...yeah! You wanna go or something?"

"If you do..."

Both of them were silent for a few moments, just looking at the ground.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I cried. "Will you guys stop being all awkward? Okay, Freddie, Brad kissed me, big deal, didn't mean anything, I just spent the last seventy two hours on my back...with you."

"Well, you weren't exactly on your back the entire time..." Freddie trailed off.

"TMI!" Carly exclaimed, and I glared at her.

"You know what I mean. Go to the gym with Brad, no hitting, got it?"

"But...we're gonna be boxing," Brad pointed out, and I huffed.

"Fine. You can only hit each other with gloves strapped on, and you have my permission to box the hell out of each other. Just stop being so damn awkward!"

"Fine," Freddie grumbled, and I glared at him.

"Freddie," I warned. "I mean it. I want things back to normal."

"Sam, it's going to take a little while for things to get back to normal, it's..."

"If you loved me you would," I replied, poking out my bottom lip. Freddie sighed, leaning against the wall of the elevator, staring at the ceiling.

"I can't believe you just played that card."

"Well it's a good card to play!" I replied. "Are you gonna do it or not?"

"He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to," Brad started, but I cut him off with a raise of my hand.

"Quiet, I'm working here." Brad looked at Carly with a confused expression on his face, and she shrugged.

"Yeah, I'll do it," Freddie replied. I grinned at him.

"Good," I replied. "Now kiss me."

"Maybe I don't feel like it," Freddie said teasingly, and I pretended to pout.

"If you loved me..." I started, but Freddie grabbed the back of my head, kissing me passionately.

"You know I love you," he growled against my mouth.

"Guys, still in the elevator with you," Carly reminded us, but we ignored her, continuing to kiss.

"And...stepping off the elevator!" Brad said. "Guys? Guys! Come on!"

We were so into our kiss that we didn't notice that Carly and Brad had stepped off the elevator and the doors had closed behind us, until I guess Carly hit the button and the doors opened again. Carly reached in and grabbed my arm, yanking me away from Freddie.

"Carly!" I whined.

"Come on, you guys, your lips are going to fall off if you keep making out every second!" Carly replied.

"Fine," I huffed. Freddie and I just gave each other Looks as we walked down the hall together. When we weren't having sex, we were making out, when we weren't making out we were making flirty comments back and forth, and when we weren't doing that, we were giving each other Looks that basically communicated all the things we wanted to do to each other. It was so hot. I felt like we were both locked into some sort of super-charged hormonal state, and I didn't know how long it would go on.

I leaned against the wall while we waited for Carly to unlock her front door, staring at Freddie and biting my lower lip, grinning when I saw him advance toward me, the intent to kiss me in his eyes, but Brad reached out and grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back.

"Nope," he said. "You two cool it for ten minutes, okay?"

I just glared at him evilly, and he took a step back. "Please don't kill me."

I was about to grab Freddie by his shirt and start kissing him again, but Carly opened her door, grabbing my arm and pulling me inside. Damn! Why was my best friend such a cockblock?

Okay, we really needed to chill, but that was the thing, we COULDN'T. We'd even TRIED the night before, to do schoolwork, he'd been at his desk and I'd been on the bed, but then we couldn't stop staring at each other. I don't even know who pulled the first move, but both of us got up, and then my back was against the closet door and my legs were around his waist. Maybe there was something in the water.

"You think you guys can keep off each other long enough to talk to Spencer?" Brad asked me, and I shrugged.

"I dunno, let's find out," I responded. I waited for Freddie to plop down on the couch before sitting in his lap.

"I'm gonna see if Spencer's in his room, you two better not start up again!" Carly warned us, before walking to Spencer's room and knocking. "Spence! You home?" The door creaked open, and Carly went in his room, leaving me, Freddie and Brad in the living room. Brad busied himself with something on the computer, and I laid my head on Freddie's shoulder, smiling when he began to stroke my hair. Oh, god. Resist the urge to kiss his neck! Resist the urge to kiss his neck!

"You smell good," I commented, nuzzling his neck a bit.

"You always smell good," he responded. I lifted my head to look at him, our eyes locked. Resolve caving. Must...kiss...Freddie...

"You two knock it off!" Brad called from the counter, and we looked at him in shock.

"You weren't even looking over here!" Freddie exclaimed. "How did..."

"Do you have any idea what Bryson was like as an infant?" Brad responded, not even looking up from the computer. "I learned how to keep an eye on things without actually having to look at them."

"But that's a contradiction," Freddie pointed out, and Brad shrugged.

"Yeah, so's my life. Stop making out."

Before we could argue any further, Carly and Spencer walked out.

"Ooh, it's the lovebirds," Spencer cooed, ruffling my hair. "How goes it?"

"Can't complain," I replied, laying my head on Freddie's shoulder and smirking as he fixed my hair and shot an annoyed look at Spencer. "Baby, other people can touch my hair, it's okay."

"Yeah but..."

"Freddie, it's her hair, not her boobs!" Carly said with a roll of her eyes.

"So Carly said you guys wanted to talk to me about something?" Spencer asked, sitting down next to Brad. They both looked at each other, each giving the other a curt nod before looking away. Aw, poor Brad, he just kept making the guys angry. Spencer didn't like him for deflowering his baby sister, and Freddie was trying his best to get over that whole kiss thing, but it was still eating at him. I still didn't see the big deal, Brad was hot, but I didn't feel anything kissing him, and I enjoyed Freddie's mouth a lot more. A LOT more.

"Yeah," I said to Spencer. "How thing's going with you and April?"

Spencer shrugged. "Good. She's so sick though."

"Does everyone get like that?" I asked worriedly, and Spencer shrugged.

"It varies. When mom was pregnant with Carly I don't remember her having any morning sickness at all."

"Well, other than that...how's it going?" Carly pressed.

"It's great! I mean...I'm really freaked out, and...wait. Is this what you guys wanted to talk to me about? Me and April?"

"Sorta," Carly responded. "It's just...okay, I heard you talking to Granddad about how you didn't have enough money to buy April a decent ring, and..."

"You were eavesdropping on my conversation?" Spencer responded, and Carly glared at him, annoyed.

"Oh, you've eavesdropped on OTHER things of mine way more in depth than conversation, remember?"

Spencer and Brad looked at each other again before looking back down at the floor.

"So anyway," I replied. "We were wondering...would this help?" I reached into Freddie's pocket and pulled out the ginormous wad of cash.

"Holy testicle Tuesday!" Spencer yelled, standing up. "How much is that?"

"It's five grand," Carly replied. "Half of what we made in two months from the affiliate marketing thing for iCarly. And we all want you to have it. Buy April a ring. A nice one."

Spencer shook his head. "Guys, I can't take that money! You already paid me back for the damage to the apartment. Forget it!"

"Spencer!" I said, leaping to my feet. "Look, we may not owe you for the crazy party, and Carly and Brad may not owe you anything, but I do."

Spencer didn't speak, just stared at me, and I continued.

"You know what would have happened if you hadn't heard me screaming my head off. I'd be DEAD. And Bill would be walking around, doing this to some other girl! I owe you everything! Five thousand dollars doesn't even begin to get close to what I owe you. Take the money! Please!"

Spencer shook his head. "Sam," he said with a smile. "You don't owe me anything. I did what anyone would have done."

"That's not true! In this day and age, people just turn the volume up on their TVs. Do you have any idea how many times I got the shit kicked out of me when I was a kid, and I'd go to a neighbor's house and BEG for help, and they'd do nothing? They wouldn't even call the cops, just kick me out. You have to take the money!"

"You deserve the money, Spence," Carly said softly. "For putting up with me, and all the craziness over the years. And I want you to be happy."

"We all do!" I added. "Just take the money, Spencer! Look...call it...a wedding gift."

Spencer nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll take it. But on one condition."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You and Carly have to help me pick the ring out," he replied.

I looked at Carly, and she grinned excitedly at me. "We can do that! Come on, Sam?"

"Yeah, sure...I mean...I'm not too good with all that kind of thing, but I can come along." I stepped forward, thrusting the wad of cash into Spencer's hand. "Here. And I never really said thank you, but...thank you. For saving my life."

He nodded. "Just did what I thought was right." We both stared at each other for a second, before Spencer gave me that goofy grin of his and pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back, before pulling away and sitting back down on Freddie's lap, smiling as he gave me a gentle kiss on the side of my head.

"Can we go ring shopping now? Can we can we can we?" Spencer asked, jumping up and down.

"But...we have rehearsals," Carly said, and I gave her a Look.

"Carls, for once in your life, just WING IT! You know we can ad-lib with the best of them! We'll do a run-through tomorrow afternoon, and we'll be fine!" I exclaimed. "Your big brother is picking an ENGAGEMENT RING, this is more important!"

"Well, I guess while they're doing that we can go to the gym," Brad said to Freddie, and he nodded.

"Sounds good."

"Why can't we just rehearse after we ring shop and the boys get back from the gym?" Carly questioned me, and I shook my head fervently.

"Nope. No no no."

"Why not?" Carly replied.

"Yeah, I am not wasting post-gym adrenaline-pumped Freddie on rehearsals. I love when he gets all aggressive like that," I replied, ignoring the poke in my side Freddie'd just given me.

"Sam..." he warned.

"What? I do!"

"I thought we were trying to cut down on his aggression?" Carly asked, and I shook my head again.

"No, I wanted him to stop yelling at me. If he wants to take out his frustration in bed, I'm all for it. In fact, I encourage it!"

"Sam!" Freddie exclaimed. "That's enough!"

I shrugged, before getting up and giving Freddie a kiss. "You know I only say it because I like to brag about your skills. Love you baby, I'll see you later. Have fun at the gym, remember, don't hit Brad unless you're wearing gloves."

"Ahem. Specify!" Brad said, clearing his throat.

"Boxing gloves," I said, giving Freddie a Look, and he nodded, rolling his eyes and smirking.

"Try not to shoplift," he reminded me.

"I'll do my best," I said with a grin. "Carly! Spencer! Let's go!"

With that, Carly, Spencer and I left the apartment, leaving Freddie and Brad behind. I really hoped they got along and wouldn't try to kill each other at the gym.


	75. Chapter 75: Things We Said Today

**A/N: Last chapter of the night, tomorrow when my brain has re-engaged we tackle a whole new round of drama llamas. What's on the agenda next? LOL, I love writing this story so much and I'm so happy you guys seem to love reading it as much I love writing it! To those who have asked how long I plan on keeping this going, I have a definite ending in my head, but some other stuff has to happen first, and then...sequel! Oh yes, there will be a sequel! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Seventy Five:  
>Things We Said Today<strong>

~*Carly*~

"What about this one?" Spencer asked, pointing to a yellow gold band with three diamonds on it.

Sam wrinkled her nose. "Ew. Yellow gold."

"April likes yellow gold!" Spencer responded, and Sam shrugged.

"Guess money can't buy taste."

"Sam!" I exclaimed with a laugh, shaking my head.

I was having so much fun in the jewelry store with my brother and my best friend. I kept getting distracted by all the bracelets, necklaces, earrings...but I was trying to pay attention.

"Aw...look at this charm bracelet," I commented. "It's so pretty. And it's not that expensive."

"So get it," Sam said with a poke to my side. "It'd look good on you."

I frowned. "Like it would fit on my bony wrist."

Sam made a face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," I replied, trying to brush her off. "Hey, Spencer, didn't you say April liked vintage stuff?"

"Uh-huh," he replied. "But there's nothing vintage in here."

"Yeah, but..." I pointed to a yellow-gold ring with a single diamond and rubies around it. "This one looks kinda vintage."

Spencer looked closely at it for a second, his eyebrows going up. "I like it!" he exclaimed. "It'd be perfect for her, and it'd look so good on her!" He frowned as he read the pricetag. "But it's too much. It's seven grand. I've only got the five g's you guys gave me, plus eight hundred of my own. I can't afford it."

"Spencer, you can haggle, you know!" Sam commented, and Spencer shrugged.

"I'm horrible at haggling. Carly, remember that time I overpaid by two g's on that jalopy?"

"Yeah," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "That was a HORRIBLE car. Didn't the brakes fall out?"

"Well, luckily I was already stopped, but yeah."

"Well, it's not like the diamond's gonna fall out!" Sam said with a roll of her eyes. "Let me handle this." She looked around for a salesperson. "Yo! Over here!"

I sighed, my hand going to my forehead. Subtlety wasn't Sam's strong suit, neither were manners. This was going to be interesting. There was a distinct possibility we'd be forcibly removed from the store...or arrested. I wondered briefly for a second whether or not we were in Mr. Harrison's precinct's jurisdiction. We'd gotten to know them a little too well, but for the most part they liked us, except Freddie. They still said he was uppity. Of course, they were right.

The saleswoman, a snooty woman in her early fifties in a stuffy business suit, ambled over. "May I help you?"

"You may," Sam replied. "We were interested in this ring right here. This is Spencer, and he's desperately in love with this girl April, right, and she has expensive taste. So we need this expensive ring."

"It's seven thousand dollars," she replied haughtily, and Sam gave her a Look.

"Yes, I can read, thank you. But perhaps you're asking a little too much...what's your name?"

"Joyce."

"Joyce. Of course. You're asking way too much for this ring."

"We generally don't cut prices, Miss..."

"Benson. Mrs. Benson, actually," Sam responded, an annoyed look flashing across her face when the woman gave her a look of disbelief. "Yeah, I'm incredibly young, I know. Also incredibly happy. Now, getting back to the whole ring issue..."

"Miss, we don't..."

"Mrs."

"We don't haggle on our prices! Maybe you'd be more comfortable shopping at Target."

"Maybe you'd be more comfortable with my foot up your-" Sam started, but I elbowed her sharply. "Ow! Ribs still fragile, Shay!"

"Then stop!" I replied.

"Alright, look. Joyce. Number one, Spencer needs THIS ring. It's exactly April's style, and he's never been so head over heels in love with a girl before, and..."

"Well if her love is contingent on a particular ring, then maybe she's not the type of girl worth marrying," Joyce responded, and Sam looked over at Spencer.

"You know, she does have a point..."

"SAM!" Spencer and I yelled.

"Okay, fine!" Sam said with a huff, turning back to Joyce. "Okay, the fact of the matter is, I know for a fact that all jewelry gets marked up by thirty five to forty percent, and I'd even go as far to say that this store marks it up even higher. Now, can you honestly tell me when the last time was that someone came in and looked at THAT ring?"

The woman huffed a bit, but stuck to her original story. "We do not haggle on prices."

I could tell Sam was pissed, and about to start yelling, when another sales associate, a girl in her early twenties, walked over.

"Excuse me, aren't you guys on that show iCarly?"

Sam, Spencer, and myself all gave each other knowing looks. "Yes, we are!" Sam said.

"What is iCarly?" Joyce asked, and Sam looked at her, amused.

"It's a very popular webshow. We average about two million hits per episode."

"It's true!" the younger saleswoman said. "I never miss a show! My name's Natalie, what brings you three to our store today?"

"Well," Sam said, leaning on the counter. "Spencer is totally head over heels for this girl, and wants to propose. He's really got his heart set on this ring, but it's a little out of his price range. Maybe you can hook us up?"

"Well," Natalie trailed off. "I'm not really supposed to..."

"How many engagement rings have you sold today, Nat? May I call you Nat?" Sam asked, laying it on thick.

"Sure! Uh, we haven't sold any today..." Natalie said, making a face.

"Well, one sounds a lot better than none, doesn't it?" Sam reasoned. "And five thousand eight hundred is a lot better than nothing at all, right?"

"I guess so..."

"Natalie!" Joyce said. "We cannot bargain on prices!"

"Would you give us a generous discount for not ripping your store to shreds on iCarly?"

"Sam!" I exclaimed. "You can't blackmail people!"

"Why the hell not?" Sam asked me, shaking her head. "Come on, Nat. Five thousand, eight hundred, take it or leave it."

"We'll leave it," Joyce responded, and Sam's jaw dropped.

"Wait!" Spencer cried. "Does Jacob Gossamer have an account with this store, by any chance?"

Joyce's brow furrowed. "Well, yes, he does...but...April...you're with April Gossamer?"

"That's right," Spencer responded, pulling out his cell phone and pulling up a photo of him and April. "Ain't she purdy?"

Sam got where Spencer was going with this, and a grin spread across her face. "Bet you'd hate to lose Jacob Gossamer as a client, huh? Bet he buys tons of stuff for his wife."

I saw Joyce roll her eyes and heave a heavy sigh. "Fine. Five thousand, eight hundred, but not a penny less."

"Whoo-hoo!" Sam shouted, raising her arms in victory.

Joyce let out a noise of pure disgust, before turning to Natalie. "Take care of this. I need a cigarette."

"Spencer, that was NICE! I see my powers of manipulation have rubbed off," Sam observed.

"Well, maybe just a little," he replied with a grin.

"The student has become the teacher," Sam said.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's like eight thirty, why?" Sam replied.

"Perfect. Hey, Spence? Finish up here, we're gonna run over to Build-A-Bra," I said, grabbing Sam's arm and yanking her out of the store.

"I don't wanna go to Build-A-Bra," Sam whined. "It's for teenage girls!"

"Sam, you are a teenage girl!" I reminded her, and she shrugged.

"Tell that to my boobs!" she said. "They won't stop growing!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you poor thing. Wish mine would start growing."

"I bet Brad likes your boobs," Sam said.

"I think he likes yours more," I muttered, and Sam glared at me.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," I said with a sigh. "Come on. I need to find like...an uber push-up bra. With massive padding."

"Uh, Carly..." Sam said as we walked in the store and I started going through all the bras. "You know, Brad's already seen your boobs, so...disguising them with large amounts of cotton padding isn't going to make a difference."

"Ugh, you're right," I responded, tucking my hair behind my ear. "This isn't fair."

"Neither is you being like five inches taller than me and a size two!" Sam exclaimed. "It is what it is!"

"What if I got implants?" I gasped in surprise when Sam grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me.

"Carly! Snap out of it! You have a Kate Moss body! Girls would kill for that!"

"But boys don't like it!"

"Oh my god, CARLY!" Sam yelled in frustration. "Brad loves you. He is very attracted to you! If he wasn't he wouldn't be with you! I know you and Freddie are still jacked up over that whole kiss thing, but damn! It was like two seconds, and it was like a peck! No tongue, no moving of lips, nothing! As soon as my brain engaged, I pushed him away! And if you would have seen the look on his face when he did it, he was trying to knock some sense into me! I've never seen somebody look THAT annoyed while kissing someone! When are you guys going to get over it?"

"I am not still jacked up over my BOYFRIEND kissing my BEST FRIEND," I responded curtly.

"Yeah, right. What's next, you got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell me?" Sam responded with a roll of her eyes.

"Just forget it," I said.

"I'll forget about it when you remember your brain!" Sam exclaimed. "You're not even done growing yet!"

"And neither are you, Dolly Parton!"

"God, don't remind me!" Sam exclaimed. "I was fine with them LAST MONTH, but they've gotten bigger!"

"I bet Freddie loves them," I said rudely.

"Yeah, because he loves ME. If he only loved me for my boobs I'd kill him. Do we honestly strike you as that shallow?"

I whirled around to look at her, arms crossed over my chest. "Well, you guys do seem to only care about sex."

Sam's eyes went to the side, and an amused but annoyed smirk went across her face, not speaking. Finally, she looked back at me. "You just don't get it. You never will."

"What is there to get, Sam? Ooh, Freddie hot, me want Freddie. Fuck fuck fuck. Did I miss anything?" I snapped. Whoa, where had that come from? I was just annoyed with Sam! At her complaining about her Baywatch caliber boobs, and at the fact that my boyfriend had kissed HER, but I didn't know I was THAT upset!

"Ooh, Brad cute but me scared! Should I or shouldn't I? Back and forth back and forth! Ooh, me not virgin anymore, but me still judge everyone else for doing the same thing! Did I miss anything?" Sam replied. "What the hell is your problem, Carly?"

"My problem is YOU kissing my boyfriend, Boobs McGee!"

Sam's jaw dropped, like she was shocked I'd actually said that. I was actually a little shocked myself, I couldn't believe that had actually come out of my mouth!

"Well," Sam said, taking a step towards me. "Maybe if you actually knew how to kiss instead of having to have your best friend show you, he wouldn't have to kiss another girl, Flatty Flatty Two by Four!"

"Best friend? What best friend?" I replied. "I dunno what happened to my best friend. There is no Sam anymore, just Seddie!"

Sam shrugged. "And I'm okay with that. I love him. He loves me. Can't beat that. Tell you what, Carly," she said. "I'm gonna get a cab back to me and Freddie's. I'll do the show tomorrow, and after that, you can call me when you mellow out." She turned to leave, and I stared after her in shock. She didn't pick a fight with me, she just walked away! In what universe did that happen?

"Like this is all my fault?" I cried, and she turned back to look at me.

"I didn't kiss Brad, he kissed me. And he was doing it to knock some sense into me. He's that good of a friend that he risked messing up his own relationship to save mine. That's a really good friend. But I'm not so sure about you anymore." She paused. "By the way, it says in one of Freddie's science books that most girls don't stop growing until their early twenties. Try to relax on the whole boob thing, and not take it out on your busty friend, k?" With that, she walked away.

Ugh, that made me even madder! I walked out of the store without buying anything, tracking down Spencer.

"Hey, where's Sam?" he asked, and I shrugged.

"We had a fight," I replied.

"What'd she do this time?" he responded. I sighed, looking at the ground.

"Nothing. This was me."

"Well, I'm sure you guys will make up. Ready to go back?" Spencer asked, his arm around me, and I nodded.

"Yeah."

~*Freddie*~

"You know, you can hit me harder than that," I commented, looking at Brad.

"Sorry," Brad responded, throwing another punch and hitting me in the shoulder. It was a weak one, and I barely moved. We'd been in the gym for a full forty-five minutes, and things were uncomfortable to say the least. We'd been in the ring for about ten, and I was ready to just call it a draw and leave. I was really, really making an effort with this kid, and he just kept throwing out weak hits, like he wasn't all that interested in being there, which confused me. He was the one who suggested the gym in the first place, and now he was acting like he wanted to be anywhere else besides hanging out with me!

"Dude!" I said. "Come on! I didn't opt out of a night of sweaty awesomeness with Sam to get love pats! What the hell?"

"Like you're not going to get sweaty awesomeness the minute you get home?" Brad pointed out, and I shrugged.

"True, but still. Hit me like you mean it!" I said.

Another weak hit.

"Okay," I sighed. "What's up?"

Brad shrugged. "Just don't wanna piss you off. Again."

"Short of kissing my wife again, there's not much you can do to piss me off."

Brad just stood there awkwardly, looking at the floor of the ring.

"Brad...I am trying really, really hard to get over all this shit and get back to normal, but I can't do that if you keep pussy-footing around and acting so damn guilty!"

Brad snorted a little bit, still looking at the ground, and I knew he was trying not to laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"Let me guess..."

"You said pussy."

"And he's back!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up. "Your sense of humor has returned, now bring your boxing skills back and there may be some hope for our friendship!"

"Fine," Brad responded. He threw another hit, catching me in the side, and I hissed in pain.

"Fuck!" I yelled, my hand going to my side.

"What? What'd I do?" Brad asked, alarmed.

I raised my shirt a little bit, gesturing to the series of injection marks. "Hit me anywhere but there."

"Damn!" Brad yelled, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Sorry."

Ugh, this was so awkward. I was still a little pissed, but even I was getting sick of this! During the whole fight between me and Sam, I'd missed Brad too. It was absolute hell going through the possibility of losing Sam, and not having anyone to talk to about it. Now that it was over with, I wanted ALL of it to be over with. Including the tension between me and my best friend.

I stretched my neck out a little bit, before suddenly throwing a combo and hitting Brad, probably a bit harder than I'd intended, but it definitely got his attention, knocking him flat on his ass. He looked up at me in surprise.

"Dude, what the hell?"

I put my gloves back up. "Man, you're such a bitch!"

Brad sprung to his feet, and I watched the anger flash across his face. He hated being called that almost as much as Sam did. He quickly advanced toward me, hitting me in the jaw. Usually off-limits for us, but at least I'd riled him up enough to get him to stop being so hesitant.

"There you go," I said with a grin. "Come on, dude!"

Brad stared at me for a second, realizing I was just messing with him, before grinning back at me. "Alright," he said, hitting his gloves together. "Let's go."

"Avoid the face," I said, putting my glove in front of my face. "Sam doesn't like it when my face gets bruised."

"Yeah, you're not half as pretty that way," Brad replied.

"I think you're prettier than me. Like a girl. You sure hit like one," I responded, ducking one of his punches and throwing one of my own, catching him in the shoulder.

We went back and forth like that, trading punches and shit-talk, like it was old times, and then Brad's phone went off. He turned in the direction of his phone, but I'd already began to throw a punch and caught him off-guard, knocking him to the ground.

"Dude, time out!" he hollered.

"Sorry," I responded with a shrug. "Go see what Carly said."

Brad pulled his gloves off before hopping over the ropes and grabbing his phone. I got out of the ring too, plopping down on the bench to rest for a second, dropping my gloves to the ground.

"Oh," Brad said, a perplexed expression crossing his face. "It's from Sam."

"What?" I cried. "Give me that!" I jerked the phone out of his hands, reading the text from my wife to my best friend.

Sam: Do yourself a favor and pay extra attention to Carly's boobs tonight. She's being mega insecure.

"Oh," I said sheepishly, handing his phone back to him. "Sorry. Here." Well that's awkward. Probably shouldn't have done that, but I guess I was still on edge about the whole kiss thing.

"Getting over it, huh?" he snapped.

"One day at a time, sorry."

"Alright, whatever. I wonder what that means though."

"No idea," I replied.

"She has nothing to be insecure about," Brad commented, and I nodded.

"Yeah, she's got a pretty decent rack I guess."

"Dude!" Brad exclaimed. "Don't talk about my girlfriend's boobs!"

"Dude! Don't kiss my wife," I replied with a shrug, and Brad sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, point taken." He paused. "Back in the ring? We have limited time before Sam starts blowing your phone up."

"Okay," I responded. As I stood up, my phone went off.

"Speak of the devil," Brad said. "What did the Mrs. have to say?"

I read the text and grinned a little bit.

Sam: Hope ur ready to finish what u started. I'm waiting.

"Wanna go?" Brad asked.

I considered things carefully for a moment. I had been spending a LOT of time with Sam lately. We'd had plenty of time to make up, but I'd spent virtually no time trying to make things cool with Brad again. Besides, I did need to make up for lost gym time.

"Nah, we can stay a little longer."

"Aw, did you miss me?" Brad responded with a grin, and I shoved him, laughing.

"Just thought I'd give the girl a little more time to heal up..."

"Dude, that's sick," Brad laughed, wrinkling his nose a bit.

I shrugged. "It's not completely my fault. She's all over me as much I am her."

"Are you guys ever gonna cool down?" he questioned, and I shook my head.

"Dear God, I hope not. Now get your ass back in the ring!" I responded, giving him a shove.

~*Sam*~

I laid on the couch in the dark, the television on, but not really watching it, when I heard the familiar sound of Freddie's key in the door.

"Hey baby," I called to him to let him know where I was.

Freddie turned on a lamp, before walking over to me, leaning over the couch to kiss me. "Hey. How was your night?"

I shrugged. "Carly and I got into a fight."

Freddie's brow furrowed, before walking over to the couch, lifting my legs up for a second to sit down, and then bringing them back over his lap. "About what?"

"I...I don't even know really," I replied. "I know she's jealous as hell about the whole..." I trailed off, biting my lip, not wanting to bring it up to Freddie.

"The kiss, you can say it," Freddie replied, one hand rubbing up and down my legs. "So what happened?"

"Well, we got done at the jewelry store, and then Carly wanted to zoom over to Build-A-Bra and started ranting about being flat-chested, so I tried to make her feel better, and she just WENT off!"

"How bad?"

"She called me Boobs McGee!" I said, laughing a bit. Carly wasn't the best with insults, so the more ridiculous they were, the more upset she probably was.

Freddie laughed too. "Don't worry about it, baby. She just sounds insecure. And a little jealous."

"Jealous of what?" I replied, and Freddie leaned forward, kissing me on my nose.

"Your amazing figure."

I shrugged. "Carly's thin as hell, I'd love to be that thin."

"Please don't. I love your body," Freddie responded. I just glossed over the issue, not too willing to get into detail with Freddie about the ins and outs of me and Carly's fight. It I were to tell him about the comment Carly made about us only being interested in sex, he'd be pissed. Yes, we did go at it like rabbits, as much as possible, but that didn't mean every single time didn't mean something. It did mean something, and it meant something really important. I focused back on what I was really curious about, which was Freddie and Brad.

"So how'd it go with Brad?" I asked.

"A lot better than I expected. I mean, he was really hesitant to hit me, until I called him a bitch. Now we're good."

"Ah, male bonding," I commented with a laugh. "Well, Spencer got a bangin' ass ring. And we talked the store down from seven g's to just under six."

"Nice," Freddie said with a nod. I pulled my legs off his lap, grabbing his shoulders and turning his body away from me. "Hey!" he whined. "I was comfortable...oh god," he groaned as I started rubbing his shoulders, his head leaning back.

"Feel good, baby?" I asked, kissing the side of his neck. He nodded.

"Please don't stop."

"Well, since you asked nicely," I teased. I continued rubbing his shoulders and arms, smiling a little bit at the groaning noises he was making as I worked over his muscles. "I had a really random thought today in the jewelry store, before we started haggling and Carly went all Lifetime movie of the week on me."

"What was that?" Freddie replied, trying to focus on what I was saying. I knew how hard that could be, every time Freddie rubbed my back, I'd end up zoning out within minutes.

"Our first kiss," I replied, kissing his shoulder. "Do you remember?"

Freddie laughed. "Oh yeah, I remember. Let's just get it over with?"

"Yep," I said, laughing a bit myself. "You so wanted to kiss me, you didn't want to just get it over with!"

"Like you didn't want to kiss me! You were the one that said 'we should kiss.' In fact, you said it verbatim!" he replied, reaching around to poke me.

"I was only finishing what was going on in your little nerd brain," I replied.

"What did we say afterwards? Good work?"

"Yeah," I said, laughing again. "We were such dorks about the whole thing."

Freddie turned around, looking at me, before leaning forward and kissing me. "I think we've gotten a little better, don't you?"

"I think I need more convincing than that," I teased, and he kissed me again, longer this time, his tongue dancing across my bottom lip before rubbing against my tongue. I moaned against his mouth, and he pulled away.

"Well?"

"Good work," I said with a grin.

"You too," he said with a smirk. He stood up suddenly. "I'm gonna hop in the shower real quick, okay?"

"K," I replied, laying back. "Hey," I called, and he turned around.

"Yeah?"

"I hate you," I said with a grin, repeating what he'd said to me right after our first kiss. He just smiled, shaking his head a bit.

"That's a shame," he said. "Because I love the hell out of you."

"I love you too," I responded with a sigh, resting my chin on the back of the couch, and he walked toward me again, kissing me one more time.

"You never have been that good at making up your mind."

"Til five months ago," I replied softly, and he just kissed me on the forehead, before heading to the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

I sat there for a moment, weighing my options. The argument with Carly had me really confused. I knew she was still upset over the whole Brad thing, but something else was going on with her. I didn't want to keep thinking about it, not while the argument was still fresh. It would just put me in a bad mood. I needed something to take my mind off of it.

I smiled to myself, standing up, before walking to the bathroom and opening the door.

"Need some help washing your back, baby?" I said, before whipping my clothes off and joining my sexy husband in the shower.


	76. Chapter 76: I'll Keep You Satisfied

**A/N: A longer chapter, and a nice steamy lemon!**

**Chapter Seventy Six:  
>I'll Keep You Satisfied<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"I just realized something," Sam announced, and I looked down at her. We were on the couch, me sitting, Sam stretched out, her head in my lap. I was playing with her hair like always, and we were just watching a movie after Sam had jumped in the shower with me and we'd had a little fun.

"What's that, baby?" I responded, my hand leaving her hair momentarily to trail across the soft skin of her neck and chest.

"Every time I take a shower with you, my boobs are always so clean afterwards!"

I laughed a bit, leaning down to kiss her. "Same with my arms...and my abs."

"Well," she replied with a smirk, "I don't want you to be dirty."

I gave her a Look. "Liar. You LOVE it when I'm dirty."

"You are a dirty boy," she agreed with a laugh.

I looked up at the TV and grimaced. "What is this?"

"Dawn of the Dead."

"I hate zombie movies."

"What?" She sat up, glaring at me. "How can you say that? This is George A. Romero! He's the GOD of zombie films!"

I shrugged. "He may be, but I don't like zombie films. I just don't see the point of them."

Sam rolled her eyes. "It's social commentary on consumerism and our culture's tendency to trudge through life, empty, like zombies!"

"Whoa," I said, my eyebrows going up. "That was a little deep."

"Yeah, I have my moments," she responded, laying her head on my shoulder. "I'm worried about Carly."

"Are you?"

"Mmmhmm. I dunno, I think she and Brad may have a little trouble getting over this one..." she trailed off, biting her lip, and I thumped her on the shoulder. "Hey! What was that for?"

"We all said we were going to stay out of everyone's relationships, REMEMBER?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Sam," I warned. "I mean it. Every time one of us goes and sticks our nose in the other's business, it gets ridiculously awkward, and I don't want that to happen again. Do you have any idea how close I was to beating the shit out of Brad when I thought he was after you? I came really close to losing a good friend over this one! And you!"

"Yeah," she said softly. "You would have really freaked out if you lost me?"

I sighed, remembering the events from a few days before, my absolute mental breakdown in the middle of Carly's apartment. I honestly and sincerely thought I was going to lose Sam, and it broke me. I was completely hysterical, to the point where I don't remember much of what I said, but I know I begged and pleaded and cried like a girl...or a crazy person. Without Sam, I WAS a crazy person.

"Did you miss the short-circuiting of my brain the other night?" I asked her, and she shook her head.

"No. I remember," she said softly, kissing my neck. "But that's all over now. I'm never gonna leave you."

"Never?"

"Unless you hit me, then I'm gone."

"Sam!" I scolded her, taking her hand in mine. "That's gotta be the dumbest thing you've ever said. I would NEVER in million years hit you. NEVER."

"I know," she replied. "I'm just saying. Or if you cheated on me."

"Also not happening."

"Good," she responded. "Then we have nothing to worry about."

"I think there's one more thing you'd leave me over," I said with a smirk, and she looked at me.

"What?"

"If I ever asked you to become a vegetarian."

"Ugh!" Sam said, making a face. "First I'd beat you over the head with a ham, THEN I'd leave you."

I laughed, kissing her. I tried to pull away after a few seconds, but her hand went to the back of my head, pulling me closer to her, fingers tangling through my hair and tugging a bit. I groaned, my arms going around her, pulling her onto my lap. She kissed me more intensely, slowly, trying to rile me up, and my hands went to her waist, grinding her down onto me.

"When does your mom get home?" she gasped, pulling away from my mouth to start kissing my neck, nibbling a bit.

"Uh...like seven...damn!" I groaned as I felt her sink her teeth in. God I loved that.

"You wanna go again?" she whispered huskily in my ear, and I nodded, before grabbing her waist and flipping her onto her back, coming over her and grinding into her.

"Stupid question," I growled, before kissing her neck. I felt her hands go to the bottom of my shirt, and I lifted up so she could pull it off, going right back to kissing her, trailing down her jaw, her neck, her earlobe, grinding against her a little more urgently when I felt her nails run up and down my back.

We were broken out of our hot, passionate makeout session by a loud knock at the door.

"Damn it!" I growled, sitting up.

"FREDDIE! SAM! Open up!" It was Brad!

"Aw, what the hell?" Sam asked, sitting back and up and fixing her hair, clearly annoyed.

"I have no clue," I replied with a sigh, standing up to open the door. Before I could even open my mouth, Brad shoved past me, walking into the apartment.

"Uh, dude..." I started, but he cut me off.

"Sam, I'd really appreciate it if you stopped giving my girlfriend sex advice!" Brad stated, glaring down at her.

Sam looked up him, her arms crossed over her chest, still annoyed over being interrupted. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't give Carly sex advice, aside from the initial lesson, I let her figure all that out for herself."

"Look at this shit!" Brad yelled, yanking his shirt collar aside. I leaned in to get a better look, before bursting into laughter.

"She bit you?" I laughed, and Brad glared at me.

"Let me see!" Sam exclaimed, scrambling to her feet and examining the well-defined bite mark on Brad's shoulder. "Oh my god, she totally did!" Sam and I looked at each other and started laughing again.

"It isn't funny, assholes!" Brad growled. "What the hell?"

"So what happened?" I asked, sitting down on the couch and pulling Sam down with me.

Brad perched on the edge of the coffee table, sulking. "We were...you know, doing it...and then ka-chink! In my neck! It hurt like a bitch!"

"It's not supposed to hurt that bad, so obviously she's not doing it right, and therefor, I didn't teach her that!" Sam replied. I nodded, looking at Brad.

"It's true."

"Alright, whatever," Brad said with a wave of his hand. "You two stop rubbing off on my sweet girlfriend! I don't like that shit!"

"Did you tell her that?" I replied, and Brad scowled.

"No...not exactly...I mean...we finished...then I acted like my dad was calling me and bounced. I was really weirded out."

"See?" Sam asked, smacking my arm. "I told you something was up with her!"

"Ow! Just because she went all baby Dracula on Brad doesn't mean something's up with her!" I replied with a roll of my eyes.

"Freddie," she said pointedly. "Okay, she's freaking out about the...the thing. That happened. With me and Brad. And then that shit she pulled at Build-A-Bra..." Sam trailed off, looking at Brad.

"And the damn protein shakes?" Brad asked pointedly.

"See?" Sam asked me. "She's having some kind of weird body image issue!"

"Sam," I warned her. "Let Brad handle it! Remember what we said?"

"We said relationship stuff, this is personal stuff that just happens to be transferring onto her relationship!"

"Look, Dr. Sam," I said with a sigh. "Carly will be FINE! I know what's she dealing with, it's not fun when you think you're too skinny."

"And if we hadn't all stepped in with you, you'd probably be on steroids right now!" Sam exclaimed.

"My, aren't we the dramatic one?" I replied with a roll of my eyes.

"Aren't we the one not getting laid for a week one if you don't shut up?" Sam challenged, and I groaned, laying my head back.

"Ugh, fine!" I looked at her. "But you'd have just as much trouble with that as I would, and you know it."

Sam shrugged. "I could buy a vibrator."

Brad stood up. "And that's my cue to leave. Sam, will you just try to talk to her tomorrow?"

"I'll try, but she's mad at me," Sam responded. "And I didn't even DO anything."

"Just try, okay? See you guys later," Brad said. With that, he let himself out, shutting the door behind him. Sam felt my eyes on her, and turned to look at me.

"What?"

"Vibrator, huh?" I teased. "Would you let me watch you?"

She rolled her eyes. "If you're a good boy..." she started.

"You know I can be a good boy."

"...then NO," she finished. "But if you're a bad boy..." she grinned mischievously at me.

"You know I can be a bad boy too," I growled, pulling her to me and kissing her. She put her hands on my chest, pushing me away.

"Show me," she responded, and I smirked at her, standing up, before picking her and up and carrying her to our bedroom.

~*Carly*~

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Spencer asked me nervously as I fiddled with his tie.

"Very sure," I replied. "Now hold still, this thing is confusing."

"I told you I had a clip-on!"

"Spencer!" I scolded him. "You cannot propose in a clip-on tie! Unwritten law."

"Fine, then just fix it!" Spencer cried. "Carly, what if she says no? I don't want to be embarrassed in front of millions of people..."

"You'll be FINE, she's not going to say no!" I exclaimed. I dropped the tie against his chest, frustrated, before going up the staircase a few steps. "Somebody get down here and fix this damn tie!"

"I'm on it," Freddie responded, walking down the stairs.

I gaped at him. "You left them upstairs?"

"Well, Gibby's there," he replied. "And I don't want to seem like The Watcher or anything, it's not fair to either one of them." He began tying Spencer's tie for him, his back to me.

"Fair?" I replied, hands on my hips. "Well it's not fair to us that they kissed!"

Freddie sighed, a little frustrated, turning around to look at me. "Look, I'm not happy about it, but I don't want to sit and stew over it! And in his weird..Bradley way...your boyfriend WAS trying to help. Even if it was a little unorthodox."

"Yeah, no shit," I grumbled.

"Tie!" Spencer yelled frantically.

"Sorry," Freddie responded, going back to fixing his tie.

"You know, Spencer's thirty and he still doesn't know how to tie a tie," I commented. "When did you learn?"

"The funeral," Freddie replied dejectedly.

"Oh," I said, looking at the ground. "Sorry." Freddie's father was a really sore subject that no one hardly ever brought up, and I felt bad for doing so, even if it was unintentionally.

Freddie shrugged. "It's okay. But I figured it was really important to learn. For that. I did it for three hours straight until I figured it out." He finished, smoothing the tie out. "There you go, Spence. I'm going back upstairs...Brad and Sam kept whispering and looking at Gibby, so I'd better get up there before they glue him to the wall or something."

He brushed by me, before turning and staring at me.

"What?"

"No offense, but..." he wrinkled his nose. "Maybe cool it on the carbs? You look like you've gained a little weight."

"Dude!" Spencer yelled. "Don't say that to her."

"It's fine," I responded. "I think your biceps are getting smaller."

He smirked, rolling his eyes. "Is that why Sam spent an entire twenty minutes last night worshiping them?" He didn't wait for a response, just went back upstairs, leaving Spencer looking at him in shock.

"What the hell?" he said, looking back at me. "That was a really dick-ish thing to say!"

I shrugged, trying not to grin. "It's okay." Had I really started gaining weight? Was I on the road to not looking like a Holocaust victim? Freddie had noticed, maybe Brad would too!

"What? I thought girls hate that, why are you smiling?"

"Uh, no reason. He was just messing with me I think," I replied. "Okay, back to this whole...proposal thing..."

"Carly," he whined. "I am so scared!"

"Don't be scared, Spence!" I said, rubbing his shoulders. "It's fine. You'll be fine! April will say yes! And now that you've turned her into a bonafide fan of the show, she'll be tickled that you proposed on the show!"

Spencer snorted a bit. "Tickled? You sound like an old lady."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Okay, so the plan is, Brad's gonna be downstairs waiting for April, when she comes in, he's gonna convince her to go upstairs, and then when the camera's on her, you can come out of the elevator, do your little I love you wuv you kissy kissy spiel, and then...wah-bam, propose!"

Spencer looked at me, annoyed. "Nothing about a proposal involves wah-bam, Carly."

"No, but I'm guessing getting April pregnant sure did. A whole lot of wah-bam," I said with a grin, poking him. "Now get upstairs!"

~*Brad*~

"I told Carly she was porking up," Freddie said as he walked into the studio. I couldn't help but laugh. That was a very un-Freddie thing to do, but he was pretty good at the whole reverse psychology bit.

"Seriously?"

"Well, not in those exact words. Just planting a seed." He looked around. "Where's Sam?"

"Rifling through Carly's stuff. Looking for incriminating evidence."

Freddie rolled his eyes, leaning against the desk. "I told her not to do that. Where's Gibby?"

"The closet."

"Why is Gibby in the closet?" Freddie asked, before looking at me. "I meant literally. No homo jokes."

I shrugged. "I dunno. Sam put him in there."

"Why didn't you let him out?"

"Didn't feel like it I guess," I replied. "Where's Carly?"

"Downstairs with Spencer."

The door flung open, revealing Sam. "You guys, look at this shit!" She dropped a shoebox full of stuff on the table, and we both turned to look at it.

"What the hell?" I asked, picking up a bottle. "Weight gain pills?"

"And...breast enlargement pills, tape measure...Houston, we have a problem," Sam said. "This has to be dealt with, and now!" She glared at me pointedly.

"Me?" I squeaked. "Why me?"

"You're the boyfriend!" she shouted. "Come on, Brad...Carly's got like...issues. You can fix them better either of us," she said gesturing to herself and Freddie. "She won't listen to me."

"What makes you think she won't?" I replied, grabbing the shoebox and stashing it away so Carly wouldn't find it and freak out.

"Uh, the twins? And I'm not talking about me and Mel!"

I nodded, making a face. "Good point. Alright, fine...I'll talk to her."

"You have to do more than talk...you gotta make a big deal about how hot you think she is," Freddie said.

"She knows I think she's hot!"

"Does she?" Sam asked. "I think the..." she looked over at Freddie. "Act that shall not be named...messed her up more than any of us anticipated."

"AAAHHH!" Gibby yelled from the closet. "Let me out!"

"Sam," I said, glaring at her. "Will you go let him out already? He's been screaming like that on and off for ten minutes!"

"But I don't feel like it. I'm tired."

"Sam! Go let Gibby out!" I said with a sigh. "Please?"

"Ugh, fine!" Sam responded, stomping over to the closet and removing the chair she'd put in front of the door, before flinging it open. "There!"

Gibby rushed out, glaring at Sam and flopping down into a beanbag, glaring at Sam.

"There were spiders in there!" he hollered, and Sam shrugged.

"Anyway, so after the show...are we gonna call her out, or do you just wanna handle it all by your lonesome?" Sam asked.

"I dunno," I responded. "Maybe do the whole group intervention thing and then I'll go talk to her one-on-one?"

"Sounds good to me," Sam said, walking over to the door and peering out of the glass. "Uh-oh, shut up, here she comes!"

"Game faces!" I hollered. We all quickly pretended to look busy, and the door opened a moment later, revealing Carly and Spencer.

"Whoa, Spence...someone's styling and profiling..." Sam commented with a nod of approval. "Yeah, this is gonna work out just fine."

Carly just stared at Sam awkwardly for a moment.

"Hey, Carly..." Sam said.

"Hi," she replied.

"How's it going?"

Carly shrugged. "Fine."

I walked over to Carly, my arm going around her waist. "Be nice, babe. She's trying." I kissed her softly. "You look really hot tonight."

"Really?" Carly responded. "I'm just in jeans and a t-shirt."

"Yeah, but...those jeans..." I bent my head to whisper in her ear. "Your ass looks so good in them."

She smiled up at me, biting her bottom lip, and I kissed her again. "Gonna let me show you how hot I think you are after the show?"

"Uh-huh," she said softly, looking up at me.

"Good," I said, releasing her. "Okay, so...is this the first time you guys have ever completely winged a show?"

"Winged?" Freddie asked.

"Wung?" Sam responded.

"Wong?" I added.

"Wang!" Carly said with a grin.

"That works!" Sam said. She bounded over to Carly. "Please stop being mad at me."

Carly sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm not mad at you."

"Then what...why are you acting like this?"

"Sixty seconds!" Freddie called, getting everything ready to go. "Brad, can you fix the lighting while I check the camera?"

"Yup," I responded, walking over to the laptop and fiddling with the controls.

"I don't really want to talk about this right now," Carly told Sam. "There's more important things going on right now." She gestured to Spencer, and Sam nodded.

"You're right. But after? We talk?"

"I guess," Carly replied. Sam looked up and gave me a pointed look, and I sighed to myself, trying to focus. There was too much going on right now. Carly's issue. Spencer's proposal. Everyone still being in a tizzy about the stupid kiss.

"Alright, people!" Freddie yelled. "Places!"

"I'll see you guys in a bit," I said, turning to walk downstairs. "Good luck!"

"I am going to need all the luck in the world," Spencer whined.

~*Sam*~

"Alright, that's it for this session of iCarly..." I started.

"But before we go, we have one more thing!" Carly yelled.

I stole a glance over to where Brad and April were standing, trying not to grin. April had no CLUE what was about to happen, and that's the way we all wanted it. This would be fun! I couldn't help but think back to that night in Vegas, when Freddie had proposed. I was sure it wasn't a standard proposal, but it fit for us. It seemed like everything out of the ordinary fit for us.

"You guys know my brother Spencer, right?" Carly said, looking into the camera. "Well, this is his girlfriend, April..." Freddie panned the camera over to her, and she looked shocked, like a deer in headlights. The girl probably wasn't used to being in front of a camera all that much, but god knows why, she was drop dead gorgeous, she could have easily been a runway model. She was tall and thin...kinda built like Carly actually, but with a more developed figure. My eyes widened as I realized THAT was how we could get Carly to stop being so weird about her body. I shot a look over at Brad, looking at April pointedly, then at Carly. His brow furrowed a bit, then a look of realization flashed across his face. Yep, he got it. Good thing we were still on the same page, things were awkward between me and Carly, but luckily the awkwardness hadn't transferred onto Brad. I tried to get my focus off our issues for a second, and back onto April and Spencer.

"April, say hi to the viewers," I said with a grin, and April just waved nervously.

"And...here's my brother, Spencer!" Carly said.

Freddie pointed the camera at the elevator, and the doors opened a moment later. I hit the "audience cheer" button on my remote as Spencer walked out. April took one look at Spencer in his suit, holding a large bouquet of roses, and a smile flashed across her face.

"Hey, honey-bunny," Spencer said as he walked toward her, handing her the bouquet of flowers.

"Hi," she said with a nervous laugh. "What's going on?"

"Not much. I know this is a little out of the blue, but there's something I wanted to say to you."

"Okay..." April trailed off.

"The last few months has been the happiest time of my life," Spencer said. "I never thought in a million years I would find a girl like you, artistic, smart, beautiful, fun...you're everything I could ever want. And I never want to be without you. So," he paused, getting down on one knee, pulling the tiny black velvet box out of his pocket. I felt something squeeze my arm, and when I looked down, I realized Carly was gripping my forearms for dear life, a big smile on her face. That made me smile, maybe there was hope for us yet! I grabbed her arms too, and we just couldn't hold it in anymore, we started bouncing up and down with anticipation.

April's hands flew to her face, covering her mouth, as Spencer looked up at her and opened the box, revealing the ring. "April Gossamer, will you be my wife? Spend the rest of our lives together?"

"Oh, my god!" she exclaimed. "Yes!"

Spencer's grin was a mile wide as he stood up and put the ring on her finger, pulling her to him. I hit the "audience cheer" button on my remote again as they kissed, and then the trapdoor ceiling button, making confetti and balloons drop down everywhere.

"Aaah!" Carly and I squealed, jumping up and down.

"She said yes!" Spencer yelled into the camera. "I'm getting married!"

"Spencer Shay is officially off the market, ladies!" Carly exclaimed, still jumping up and down.

I couldn't help but look over at Freddie, still thinking back to the night we were in the same predicament as Spencer and April, giving him a smile, and by the way he was looking at me, I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Love you," I mouthed at him, and he just smiled.

"Love you too," he mouthed back.

"Alright, well on that note!" I yelled as Freddie pointed the camera at me. "Marriage! Yay!"

"Yeah, we're big fans of it," Freddie added as he turned the camera on himself. "You should all try it someday. Later!"

With that, the show was over, and April and Spencer were still kissing happily.

"Awww," I gushed. "They're so cute."

They finally pulled apart, and April gazed up at him. "I was scared you'd never ask me."

"I've been wanting to forever," he replied. "Just had to work up the guts."

"Did you honestly think I'd say no?" she asked with a laugh, and Spencer shrugged. "Honey?"

"Yeah, honey-bunny?"

"I'd really like to get married before I start to show..."

Spencer's brow furrowed. "That doesn't leave us much time to put it together."

"Oh, trust me, it can be done," she responded with a smile. "Come on, we gotta go call my parents!"

"Wait!" I cried, and they both looked at me.

"What's up?" Spencer asked.

"Uh, Sam and I had a question for April," Brad said, and Freddie and Carly shot us confused looks.

"Okay..." April said slowly. "What is it?"

"Um...when you were in high school, were you like...really skinny?" I asked, and she laughed.

"Please, that's an understatement. All my classmates called me Giraffe, Slim, every name in the book! I hated it so much! I was even drinking protein shakes, trying to gain weight!"

I looked over to Carly, who was staring at April, dumbfounded. "But...you...you're so..."

"Built?" Spencer suggested. "Yeah, she is, isn't she? She has a great body..."

"Spencer!" April cried, smacking his arm before turning her focus back to Carly. "I mean, honestly I didn't even start developing until my sophomore year of college, and then...it was like...BAM! Two cup sizes in one semester, hips got wider, I got a butt...it was good. I was happy with it, after an entire lifetime of being so skinny."

"So...so you're happy with your body?" Carly asked, and April nodded.

"I mean, I don't want to sound shallow or conceited, but...yeah. I love my body." She walked over to Carly and gave her arm a squeeze. "You'll be fine, hun. Besides, that one over there seems to like you just fine," she said, gesturing to Brad, who nodded fervently.

"Alright, well, we're gonna get going..." Spencer said. "Celebrating and all that."

"Thanks you guys, so much!" April said. She looked at Carly. "See ya later...sis."

With that, they left the studio, leaving Carly dumbfounded. She gasped with excitement.

"Oh god, I didn't even think about that! She's gonna be my sister-in-law!" Carly said with a grin, bouncing up and down.

"Better sister-in-law than Freddie has," Brad commented, and I glared at him.

"Watch it!" I said, pointing at him, and he gave me a sheepish look.

"You know, I may not be as good with the whole manipulative psychology game as you guys," Carly said. "But I'm not dumb. I know exactly what you guys were trying to pull just now!"

I groaned. "So nothing April said to you made any difference?"

"Well...yeah, but..." she frowned suddenly. "I...I can't help it, okay? The idea of you and my boyfriend kissing makes me crazy!"

I rolled my eyes. "Carly! We explained everything to you, and..."

"I know! And I know I'm being ridiculous, but I can't help it!" she cried. "It's making me crazy! Freddie, back me up!"

Freddie groaned, setting the camera on the table. "Look, Carly, I'm not pleased about it, okay? But I'm willing to let it go. Are you really and truly willing to just throw away your friendship with Sam over this?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Because that's what's going to happen, and you know it!"

"Aargh!" Carly yelled in frustration, flopping down in a beanbag. "I can't help this! I want to get over it, but I can't!"

My eyebrows furrowed as something crossed my mind I hadn't thought of before.

"Well, Brad, if Carly's angry with you over kissing me, then I think you have a right to be angry too," I said.

"What?" Brad exclaimed. "Why?" He shot a Look over at Freddie, who shook his head.

"Nope! It's not what you think! I've never touched that girl...Sam, explain yourself!"

I smirked a little, crossing my arms. "Oh nothing, it's just...I just realized that every person standing in this room right now has kissed me at one point or another."

Just like that, Brad, Carly, and Freddie's jaws all dropped.

"Shit!" Brad exclaimed. "She's right!"

I shrugged, holding my hands up. "I mean, I know I'm hot and all, but...aah!" I squeaked, ducking as Brad threw a pencil at me.

"Oh god," Carly said, her hands going to her face.

"Yeah, it's official," Freddie stated. "This thing had gotten too weird."

"I'm fine with it," I said, shrinking a little when Freddie turned and glared at me.

"You thrive on weird," he responded, and I nodded.

"This is true...but come on, you guys! This bullshit has gone on long enough! Things were SO good before! We all had FUN, remember? Remember FUN? Before everything got too serious?"

Carly sighed, thinking, before standing up. "You're right," she said softly. "I'm sorry."

"I love you, Carls!" I exclaimed, grabbing her hands. "I would never in a million years intentionally try to hurt you! And I don't want Brad, you know how in love I am with Freddie!"

"I know," she said.

"And we're in competition, dude! You don't have to keep up with me, I don't have to keep up with you! We just do our own thing, okay? No more stealing my moves either," I said, poking her.

"You told them?" Carly shrieked, looking over at Brad.

"I yelled at her!" Brad defended himself. "I thought she put the idea in your head! I don't like that shit, Carly! And I don't want you to turn into a Sam clone either. I love you, the way you are!"

"Even though I'm too skinny?"

"Carly," Brad said, grabbing her and pulling her to him. "You are NOT too skinny. You are sexy as hell." He kissed her neck. "You're long and lean, like a supermodel. I love it."

"But...I've seen you looking at Sam. Before, and after the kiss."

"Carly, a blind man could see I've got boobs! I can't help it that I have them, and guys can't help looking! Whether Freddie likes it or not," I said, turning to look at Freddie, who just scowled at me. "Just like you can't help looking at Freddie's biceps when you think I don't notice."

Carly looked at me, shocked, and I nodded.

"Oh yeah, I've seen you checking out the guns, okay? And it's cool. Because I know you'd never go after him. Besides, it's kind of a nice ego boost for me."

"How?" Carly asked, confused, and I shrugged.

"Because I have that hot piece of ass that all the girls check out, and he's mine all mine."

"Sam, what did I tell you about calling me that?" Freddie asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Only in private?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I could use my other nickname for you that I use in private..." I started, but he nearly leapt off the desk, his hand clapping over my mouth.

"No."

"Wait, what do you call him in private?" Carly asked, a curious grin on her face. "I gotta know."

I tried to shake Freddie's hand off my mouth, but he wasn't budging.

"No, let her go!" Brad yelled. "I gotta know too!"

"No way!" Freddie yelled, pulling me against him so my back was against his chest, still covering my mouth. "Forget it!"

"Hey, baby?" Carly asked, looking at Brad, who nodded.

"I'm on it!" he said, walking around behind Freddie.

"No!" Freddie yelled. "Touch me and I'll break your arm!"

Brad ignored him, grabbing his arms and trying to pull him off me.

"No no no!" Freddie yelled, swatting at him. "Leave me alone!"

"No way! We gotta know this!" Carly yelled excitedly, dancing a bit. "Sam! What's his nickname?"

"No!" Freddie yelled. He was trying his hardest to hold onto me while Brad was trying to pull him off, and I finally broke free before Brad tackled him to the ground.

"Get off me! Sam, I swear to god! You better not!"

"What's his nickname, Sam?" Brad asked.

"Sam!" Freddie yelled. "You better not!"

I walked over to Carly, leaning over and whispering in her ear, and she gasped, bursting into laughter.

"Super Dick?" she laughed, and Brad's jaw dropped before exploding into laughter, releasing Freddie and laughing so hard he had to sit down.

"Dammit!" Freddie yelled.

"More powerful than a locomotive?" Brad asked, still laughing, and I nodded, grinning.

"I hate you guys so much," Freddie grumbled. "You are in so much trouble when we get home, Sam!"

I just stuck my tongue out at him. "Bring it on, baby."

"Oh I'm gonna. Consider the rules suspended for the rest of the night."

My eyes widened a bit, but I couldn't help but get a little excited at the notion. We'd been taking it a lot easier on each other lately, a little bit of roughness would be more than welcome for a night.

"Jesus, don't kill her, Freddie," Carly commented.

"Oh, she's done for," Freddie responded, grabbing my hand and yanking me toward the door. "Come on baby."

"Um, help me?" I asked weakly as Freddie picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

"That didn't sound very convincing," he commented. "But by the end of the night..." He turned around, me still over his shoulder, to wave to Carly and Brad. "You guys have fun. I'm gonna go take care of a few things."

"Bye Super Dick!" Carly and Brad both yelled with a wave, still laughing.

I was a little afraid for my sanity. Freddie was really gonna take his time tormenting me tonight, I could tell. I was in for it. I kept squirming, trying to get him to put me down as he carried me down the steps, but he wouldn't even respond to me until we got in our apartment. He carried me back to the bedroom and threw me down on the bed, coming over me and kissing me roughly.

"What'd I tell you?" he growled, nipping at my collarbone, and I moaned a little.

"Not to tell them that," I gasped as he ground his hips into me.

"Mmhmm. I told you not to tell them. And what did you do?"

"I told them."

"Bad girl," he said, his hands unbuttoning my jeans. "You're in big trouble now." He abandoned pulling my jeans off temporarily to pull my shirt over my head, unfastening my bra and dropping it to the ground, before going back to pulling my jeans off, taking my boyshorts with them. Now I was naked and he was fully dressed.

"Stay right there," he said in a firm voice. "Do not get up. Got it?" God, I LOVED when he talked to me like that.

"Yeah..."

"Say it, Sam."

"Don't get up. I got it."

"That's better," he replied, before kissing me. He stood up, walking over to his dresser drawer and pulling something out. "Know what this is?"

"It's a tie..." I trailed off, frowning. "Freddie, no. I don't like being restrained, you know that."

"I'm very aware of that, baby. That's why I would never do it," he replied, walking toward me.

"Then what?"

"Ties come in handy for other things. They can also be used as blindfolds."

My eyes widened. Oh god. Not being able to see what he was doing, not being able to predict his next move? Fuck, this was going to be so HOT! Punishment my ass!

"You okay with that?" he replied, getting on the bed next to me, bending down to kiss me.

"Uh-huh," I responded, already beginning to get turned on just by the tone of his voice.

"Good. You're probably gonna love this and hate this all at once," he commented, going behind me to tie the blindfold behind my head.

"That's your favorite thing, isn't it?" I asked.

"Mmmhmm," he replied, kissing my shoulder. "I love driving you crazy."

"But I can't see you..." I whined.

"No, you can't," he agreed. "The only thing you're gonna be able to focus on is how I make you feel."

"Oh, god," I breathed. I heard him chuckle.

"I haven't even touched you yet, and look at you, you're getting turned on already. No self control."

I didn't respond, and I felt him move away from me.

"Lay back," he said softly, and I felt his hands go to my shoulders, pushing me down onto my back. Oh god, this was so hot. He grabbed my wrists, stretching my arms out, and I just laid there, waiting.

I moaned softly as I felt him trail his fingertips up and down my body, arching my back a little bit. His hand went to my left breast, his fingers moving in slow circles, just around my nipple, but not touching it. I groaned, biting my bottom lip, and then I felt his mouth come over mine, kissing me passionately. Just when I started really getting into the kiss, he pulled away, his hand still working a slow circle around my breast, and then I felt him switch to the other one.

"God, Freddie..." I gasped.

"Relax, baby," he said, kissing me again, and then pulling away. "I'm just getting started with you."

He stopped touching me all together, and I laid there, breathing heavily in anticipation of what would come next. I groaned as I felt him lick a trail up my neck, before biting at my earlobe a little, flicking it with his tongue. I was so turned on already, and he'd barely touched me. This was so hot.

He pulled away again, and I moaned in frustration, sighing when I felt his lips on my hipbone, his hands running lightly at those sensitive spots at the back of my knees and then up my thighs. He alternated between kissing me, touching me, and pulling away, hitting different spots in a random pattern so I couldn't figure out his next move. I was ready to snap.

"Baby..." I moaned. "Please..."

I felt his hot breath on my neck, and I whimpered a little bit.

"Please what?" he said huskily into my ear, his voice a low rumble. "You know you like this."

I did like it, but oh my god, it was frustrating as hell. He was driving me crazy.

"Ah!" I cried out suddenly as I felt him rub between my legs.

"Damn, someone's a little turned on..." he commented, sliding a finger inside me and moving it in and out in an excruciatingly slow rhythm.

"A little?" I scoffed. "You're killing me."

"Not yet," he mused, continuing to move in and out of me, his thumb rubbing my clit.

"Oh, god..." I moaned, breathing heavily, gasping for air, my back arching against my will. "Freddie..."

"Getting close, my sweet sweet baby?"

"Yes," I gasped. "Please..."

"Nope," he responded, pulling away from me entirely.

"Baby!" I whined. "Oh my god...this is torture."

"Then maybe you won't open your mouth to Brad and Carly next time," he replied. I gasped as I felt his mouth moving over my breasts, and then his hand trailing up and down my thigh. God, this felt so good and it was torture all at the same time. Boy definitely knew what he was doing. I loved our slow, passionate lovemaking sessions, but I had to admit, I loved when he messed with my head like this.

"What should I do next?" he asked me, trailing a hand up and down my ribcage.

"Fuck me," I stated plainly, knowing how much it turned him on to hear me say that, hoping to get him to abandon this little game of his,

"Not yet," he replied, kissing my neck. "I've got plans for you."

"Oh god," I moaned. He pulled away from me, and I felt the weight on the bed shift, then the sound of his belt unbuckling, and then the soft sound of his clothes hitting the floor. A moment later, and he was on top of me, his bare chest rubbing against mine. I sighed, enjoying the feeling of his warm skin against mine, and I tried to wrap my arms around him, but he just pulled them away, pinning my wrists down.

"Freddie!" I whined, bucking against him. Oh god, I could feel him, he was just as turned on as I was. If I twisted my hips just a little bit, in the right way, I'd be able to get him to slide into me. He growled a little, pulling away from me.

"Cute, but not happening, baby," he said. "Not yet, anyway."

He surprised me by suddenly grabbing my hips and rolling me over onto my stomach, and I squealed a little in surprise. A moment later, and I groaned as I felt him push my hair aside and kiss the back of my neck, trailing down to my upper back.

"Oh, god!" I cried out. That spot was so, so sensitive. I loved feeling his mouth there, and he didn't disappoint, his tongue rolling over the sensitive spot repeatedly. I felt his arm go underneath me, and I moaned as he started rubbing me again, still kissing my back. Oh my god, if he kept this up, I'd be a goner in no time. I bucked against his hand as I felt him kiss up and down my back, over and over, up and down, moving up to my neck occasionally.

"You like this?" he murmured against my skin, and I nodded fervently, yelping a bit when he smacked me on my ass. Nowhere NEAR like in the past, but it'd been so long since he'd done that, it completely caught me off-guard. And god, I loved it. "Try again."

"Yes, yes I love this," I gasped. "Please don't stop."

"I'll do what I like," he replied, and I could hear the tone of mischief in his voice. He'd missed this as much as I had. I tried to put up a little resistance, moaning when I felt him grab a handful of my hair and grind his hips into me. "Silly girl, trying to fight this. I thought you said you loved this."

"I do," I moaned. "But..."

"Oh, you want me to work for it, is that it?" he asked, pulling away and flipping me onto my back again.

"Yeah," I replied breathlessly. God, he was being so unpredictable tonight, even without the blindfold I wouldn't have a clue what he was up to! I said it before, I'll say it again, this was so fucking HOT!

"You got it, baby," I heard him say, and then I felt him grab my legs and put them over his shoulders. I cried out, arching my back, as I felt his tongue move over my center.

"Fuck!" I cried out, my hands going into his hair. "Freddie! Oh my god...baby..."

He continued licking over me, bringing me so close to the edge. I didn't know if he would keep me there, pull away, or just give me what I so desperately wanted. It was anybody's guess. I couldn't stop moaning, and the moans were quickly escalating into screams. Poor Marissa, I knew she was sick of hearing me sound like I was being killed every night, but I just couldn't help it. Her son had a way with his mouth.

"Aah!" I moaned as I felt him slide two fingers into me, curling them against my g-spot, moving in and out at a quick pace. Oh god, I was getting so close. I was shaking, moaning, cursing...writhing on the bed uncontrollably. Please, please don't let him stop. Please don't let him stop. This felt so good. Please don't let him stop...oh god.

"Baby..." I cried out. "Please don't stop...please!" I practically screamed in frustration when he pulled his mouth away from me, but he continued moving his fingers in and out of me.

"If I let you go, you gotta do something for me," he said, moving up my body to lick at my breasts.

"Please..." I moaned. "Oh god, please...I...I'll do whatever you want!"

"Whatever I want, huh?"

"Yes, anything!" I cried. "Please don't stop...please...oh god please just let me come!"

"You got it," he replied, and I sighed in satisfaction when I felt his mouth on me again. God, even with all the crazy amounts of sex we'd been having lately, I hadn't been this riled up in a long time. I felt like my entire body was going to snap! I panted, my head tossing back and forth as I began to shake. I was so gone I couldn't even stop myself from grinding my hips into his face. Oh my god!

"Baby..." I gasped. "Oh god...Freddie...I...shit...shit...Freddie...FREDDIE!" I cried out as I finally felt my whole body tense up and then release, shaking and spasming uncontrollably. I thought it would go on forever, it was like I couldn't stop. Every time I thought my body would start to come back down, another wave would go through me. I couldn't do anything but arch my back, my hands gripping the sheets so hard it hurt my fingers, unable to stop screaming and moaning at the top of my lungs. Freddie pulled away, and finally the sensations started to subside. I felt him move back up my body, kissing here and there, until he reached my mouth, kissing me softly. He pulled the blindfold off me, and my eyes fluttered open, looking up at him, and I moaned again at the look in his eyes.

"That..." he said, kissing me again. "Was so fucking sexy."

God, it had felt so good...but he had me so desperate that I'd agreed to do whatever he wanted. Uh oh.

"So what did you want me to do?" I asked, and he smirked. "What?"

"You did it already."

"I did?"

"Mmhmm," he replied. "You begged. I fucking love it when you beg for it." With that, he thrust into me, and I groaned, still sensitive from the intense explosion that had just overtaken my body. My arms went around his neck, moaning as he grabbed my legs and wrapped them around his waist.

"God, baby...you feel so good," I moaned.

"You do too," he responded, kissing me again. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, gasping when he began moving in and out of me faster.

"I want you to go again..." he said, groaning as he tried to keep focus.

"Keep it up," I moaned. "And I will...oh god...baby..."

"You like this? Hmm?" he asked, slamming into me, and I nodded, unable to find words at the moment. "You gonna go all wildcat on me?"

"You want me to?"

"Yeah. Do it."

I didn't respond, just lifted my head to bite at his shoulder, digging my nails into his back, and he groaned, burying his face in my neck.

"God, I love that," he panted. "You feel SO good." He started doing that grinding, slow circle thing I loved, and I started moaning even louder than before, grinding against him frantically.

"Freddie..." I moaned. "I...oh god...I'm..."

"Yeah, baby...come on. Let me feel it." He picked up his pace even faster, pulling away slightly so he could lick and suck at my breasts, then nipping at my collarbone before running his tongue over it, and I cried out, my back arching, the back of my head pressing into the mattress hard. Oh god...it was right there...I was so close...again...

One final flick across my nipple with his tongue and I felt my entire world shatter, gripping his shoulders tightly as my body clenched up again and I cried out.

"Freddie! Oh my god...baby...fuck!" I screamed, quaking against him. "Yes! Oh god yes!"

"Damn, baby!" he groaned, and he buried his face in my neck, pulling me against him tightly, and I moaned again as I felt him explode inside me, shaking uncontrollably. Finally I felt my muscles relax, and I was exhausted, but in the best way possible. I ran my nails lightly up and down his back as he came back down to earth, still shaking.

"Shit," he whispered in my ear, breathing heavily. "That was amazing."

We laid like that for a few minutes longer before he laid down next to me, pulling me against him, and I laid my head on his chest, smiling a bit as I felt his hand go into my hair to toy with it. It was the most comforting feeling in the world, because he was the only one who did it. It made me feel so safe. I could hear his heartbeat thumping away, gradually slowing back down to normal, and I trailed my fingertips up and down his chest.

"You missed riling me up," I commented softly, and he nodded, lifting his head to kiss me on top of mine.

"You missed letting me rile you up," he replied.

"Yeah...I guess I did," I responded with a grin. "What do you like better?"

"All of it," he responded. "Just depends on our moods I guess."

"Our moods?" I replied, picking my head up to look at him. "The whole blindfold thing was your idea!"

"You started it by messing with me in the studio," he reminded me. "You wouldn't have done that if you weren't trying to get something going."

"True," I replied with a shrug. "That was really hot."

"Oh yeah," he said. "We'll have to do that again."

"Uh, next time the blindfold's on you!"

"Oh god," he groaned, before laughing a bit. "I'm afraid, and yet, I'm looking forward to it."

"Tired?" I asked him, and he shrugged.

"Are you?"

"Not really. I mean, yeah, but...not sleepy."

"Movie?"

"Uh-huh. And snuggles."

He laughed, kissing the top of my head again. "I love snuggles."

"I love you," I replied, picking my head up to kiss him, moaning softly as his hand went to the back of my head to keep me there a bit longer.

"I love you too," he replied after we'd separated. He pulled away to try and fish the remote out of the tangled sheets of our bed, finding it and laying back down, pulling me back to where I was before.

"Guess what?"

"What, baby?"

"I only have three more assignments before I'm done," I stated, referring to school.

His head snapped up, looking at me in shock. "You're kidding."

"Nope. How far along are you?"

"Apparently this close to getting my ass handed to me," he grumbled.

"Better step your game up," I teased.

"Oh, I'm gonna step it up. Your ass is going down."

"We'll see," I responded with a grin. He shook his head, smirking a bit, before focusing his attention back on the television. I laid my head back down on his chest, not really paying attention to the TV, still in post-coital bliss, thinking about how happy I was right now, the sound of the love of my life's heartbeat lulling me to sleep.


	77. Chapter 77: I'll Be On My Way

**Chapter Seventy Seven:  
><strong>**I'll Be On My Way**

~*Carly*~

"Carly!" Sam whined. "I hate Christmas!"

I gave Sam a Look. "I thought you loved Christmas...remember, people buying you stuff?"

"That was before I had to give serious consideration to buying stuff for Freddie! Now this holiday sucks! You have no idea how hard that boy is to shop for!"

Sam, Melanie, and I were at the mall, trying to buy Christmas gifts, and we were having a bit of difficulty. This was the first time Sam and I'd ever had significant others to buy gifts for, and we were both kinda stuck. Brad wasn't any easier to shop for than Freddie. We'd been at the mall for over an hour and still came up empty-handed!

I glared over at Melanie. "Lucky you, you have to buy stuff for a girl! How easy is that?"

Melanie just shrugged. "Considering switching teams, Carly?"

"What? No!" I responded. "Um...you know...not that there's like...anything wrong with it, but...yeah, not my style."

"We like penis, Mel," Sam reminded her, and Melanie made a face.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, how can you two have this much trouble shopping for two boys you spend all your time around? It can't be that hard!"

Sam scoffed. "Yeah, right! I am not going the normal route of buying cologne or anything lame like that, it's totally cliché and I don't want that. I mean, this is Freddie...like...how do you buy the perfect gift for the perfect guy?"

"You think Freddie's the perfect guy?" I asked with a raise of my eyebrows.

"Uh, yeah!" Sam responded, glaring at me. "I mean, he's perfect to me."

"Well, that's sweet," I commented. "But Brad is closer to perfect than Freddie."

"What?" Sam exclaimed. "That's such bullshit! Freddie is...he's smart..."

"Brad's smart."

"He's got the most gorgeous eyes ever!"

"I like Brad's blue eyes."

Sam gave me a Look. "Freddie's abs and Freddie's biceps. The end."

I shrugged. "Brad's got some pretty nice abs himself."

"Yeah, but...he's so skinny."

"Sam!" I scolded her. "Brad is not that skinny, I love the way he looks. And say what you want, but Brad has way better hair than Freddie."

Sam considered my point carefully for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, I'll give you that. He does have better hair. But...yeah, sorry Carly, but Brad's baby blues don't hold a candle to Freddie's eyes, and you know it. I mean, I can get lost in those suckers. Easy."

"Okay, fine. Freddie has nice eyes. But his style is way lagging behind Brad's."

Sam snorted. "So? Freddie has no business wearing clothes anyway...I mean...damn." She bit her bottom lip, eyes going to the side, and I could tell she was picturing Freddie.

"Neither does Brad," I replied, thinking about how hot my boyfriend looked without clothes.

"Ugh!" Melanie said, snapping her fingers in front of our faces. "You two snap out of it!"

"Sorry," I said, trying to clear my head. "Just got lost in thought for a second. Sam?"

"I can't hear you right now, in my mind I'm in bed with Freddie."

"Sam!" I laughed, shaking her shoulders. "Come on! We have to get this shopping thing DONE!"

"Okay, okay," she replied. "But this is so hard! I have no clue what to get him! And it's not like it can only be one thing either."

"Don't forget, we still have other people to shop for too," I reminded her, and she rolled her eyes.

"See? This is what I get for caring about people! Stress!"

"Let's just go to the Pear store. They're both technology geeks, there's bound to be something in there!"

I was so glad Sam and I were finally getting along again, life was so much easier when I had my best friend with me. Brad had become an integral part of my life that I couldn't imagine being without, but Sam was irreplaceable. It was weird, after all the stuff that had gone down recently, once we'd made up, we actually seemed to be a little bit closer.

At my suggestion of the Pear store, Melanie wrinkled her nose.

"I'm not really into all that techie stuff, so you guys go ahead...I'm gonna go pop into some clothing stores, I'll meet up with you later, okay?"

"Sure thing," Sam replied. "I'll text you."

With that, Melanie bounded off to do her shopping, and we headed to the Pear store.

"Freddie has practically one of everything in this store," Sam whined.

"Yeah, but how up to date is everything?"

"Well..." her brow furrowed. "His laptop is nearly two years old...do you think I should get him a new laptop?"

"Uh, yeah!" I replied. "He'd go nuts over it...get him this one." I gestured to the PearBook Air. "It's supposed to be really light."

"Okay...yeah." she said with a nod of her head, studying the laptop carefully. "And I was thinking...he's got the PearPad, but he has to hold it up when he's messing with it, and he can't hold the camera and do that at the same time really."

"Okay?" I replied, and she continued.

"So...I could get him this!" she said walking over to a touchscreen monitor.

"Sam, I think you need the computer for that too, not just the monitor," I commented, and she frowned.

"Well...I could do that, and the laptop. Right?"

"If you want to overdo it," I pointed out. She shrugged.

"I just don't want to like...be lame?" she replied, and I nodded.

"I get that. But remember, you don't want Freddie to feel bad if you got him more stuff than he got you."

"I didn't even think about that," she said. "So...touchscreen and desktop, or new laptop?"

I considered her question carefully, trying to help her make a decision.

"The laptop," I replied. "He can use it for more stuff. The touchscreen's just gonna sit in the studio."

She nodded. "Then it's settled! After we get done here though, let's bounce over to a department store, so I can buy him some sweaters that really put the emphasis on his arms. It'd be a crime to hide those things."

"But what do I get Brad?" I cried.

"How about this?" Sam asked, pointing at a video camera. My eyebrows went up. It was a nice camera. A really, really nice camera.

"He would love that!" I exclaimed. "How much is it? Who cares, I'm getting it!"

"Yay!" Sam cried, bouncing up and down. "Important gifts down, now we just gotta take care of the supplementary gifts!"

"And the ones for other people," I reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," she responded with a grin.

~*Brad*~

"I hate shopping. Did I mention I hate shopping?" I asked Freddie, who just rolled his eyes at me.

"Only like twenty times in the past hour. Suck it up, man. We gotta deal with this."

I grunted. "Why are girls so damn hard to shop for?"

"No clue," Freddie responded. "Do you think Sam would like this?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

"Brad!" Freddie exclaimed in frustration. "Help me out here, I have no clue what I'm doing!"

"Well neither do I!" I replied. "I've never bought jewelry before, damn! I just hope Carly likes this necklace, otherwise I'm outta luck."

"She'll like it. It's jewelry. Carly likes jewelry."

"But is it enough?"

"I don't know! You can buy her some clothes or something, dude. Back to Sam!" Freddie replied. "I told her we were going to the gym, that gives us limited time before she starts calling!"

This was the most frustrating thing ever, trying to buy Christmas gifts for Carly and Sam. I'd buy gifts for my family later, I always did that at the last minute, but I wanted everything for Carly to be perfect, especially considering I knew I had limited time left with her. I knew the letter from the military academy would arrive any day now, and it was almost guaranteed to be an acceptance letter. By the time August rolled around, I'd be gone, far away from her. Every second I had left had to count, big time.

"Brad!" Freddie said, snapping me out my thoughts. "What do you think?" He gestured to a bracelet with a heart shaped charm on it. "I kinda wanna get it engraved with something."

"What?" I asked, and his brow furrowed.

"I have no idea!" he whined pathetically. "God, I'm so bad at this!"

"Easy, dude. Anything you get her, she'll love, you know that. You've already bought her a crap-ton of stuff!"

"Yeah, but the stuff from Victoria's Secret could really be considered a gift for me," he responded with a grin. He paused. "I gotta sleep on the whole engraving thing, but I'm definitely getting that bracelet for her."

"You could get it somewhere else cheaper," I pointed out. "Sam doesn't seem like the label type."

Freddie glared at me. "I don't care if I can get it cheaper. This place is supposed to be the best. Sam deserves the best."

"Then why'd she get stuck with you?" I cracked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Shut up!" he said with a laugh, shoving me a bit. "I feel bad for Carly, settling for your ass."

"Well, she does love my ass," I replied with a grin.

"Alright, whatever. You getting that necklace, yes or no?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Even though this place is expensive as hell! All this fuss over a name and a little blue box! It's ridiculous!"

"Do you love Carly?" Freddie asked me, and I glared at him.

"Stupid question," I replied. "Of course I do."

"Then quit being a tightwad and pony up the dough! Damn dude!"

"Fine," I sighed. "Then let's hurry up and go buy makeup or whatever else these girls are into so we can get out of here. I'm started to be adversely affected by all this consumerism."

"Right on, brother," Freddie said sarcastically. "When'd you become so anti-establishment?"

I shrugged. "Guess I'm rebelling against my old man."

"Who is, by definition, THE man," Freddie pointed out.

"Damn the man!" I yelled. "Dude, that stupid acceptance letter is gonna come any day now."

"Why don't you just stand up to him? Tell him you don't wanna go!" Freddie said as we stood in the checkout line. I shook my head.

"I can't do that," I replied.

"Why not?"

"Dude, you met my family! I can't reject the military, they'd disown me!"

"So, let me get this straight. Your parents screwed up your old life in Tacoma with their weird shit, made you terrified to open up to anyone after you moved here until you figured out how screwed up me and Sam and Carly are, now your family wants to force you into a career path you don't want, AND separate you from the girl you're in love with...in pursuit of the career path you don't want. Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, that's pretty much it," I responded.

Freddie shrugged. "Sounds to me like cutting ties wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"Somebody's gotta keep Heather and Bryson's heads on straight," I replied.

"Yeah, but you'll be gone in a few months if your parents have their way anyway."

I scowled. "I don't want to talk about this right now. No offense." I paused. "Damn, I hate this time of year."

"Chill out, Grinch. It'll be fine. Look, you just have to-"

"Dude!" I warned, cutting him off.

"Okay, we won't talk about it!" Freddie responded, his hands going up defensively. "Sheesh! You're cranky today...want some of my insulin or something?"

"Very funny," I grumbled, before stepping up to the counter to pay for Carly's necklace.

~*Sam*~

I sat on the couch, sulking, waiting for Freddie to get home. He was in BIG trouble with me. He'd been at the gym way too long. We were pretty much past the workout obsession of his, but I didn't want him to push himself too hard and get his glucose levels all out of whack. He'd have a headache for the rest of the day if he did that. I looked over at the door, glaring, as I heard his key in the door.

"Freddie!" I yelled.

"Uh...hey baby. What's up?"

"Don't hey baby me! Why were you at the gym so long? You know it's not good for you to do that!"

Freddie looked at me for a second, before sighing. "I wasn't at the gym, okay?"

I gave him a confused look. "Then where were you?"

"Uh..."

"Freddie," I said, giving him a Look. "You better tell me."

"Fine! I was buying you stuff, okay? And you're out of luck when it comes to peeking, I stashed everything at Brad's!"

I sighed, laying back on the couch, smirking a little bit when I heard Freddie walk around the couch in front of me.

"You mad at me, baby? Hmm?" he asked, bending down to kiss me.

"Yes!" I replied, and he gave me a confused look.

"But Sam!" he whined. "I was doing stuff for you! You can't honestly be mad at me for that! That's not fair, I-" I cut him off by grabbing his shirt collar and yanking him back down to me, kissing him fiercely.

"I'm just aggravated cuz I missed you," I replied.

I released his shirt, holding my arms out to him. "Lay down with me."

He sighed, rolling his eyes, but he had an amused look on his face. "I hate when you pretend to be mad just to throw me off," he stated, before laying down, shifting us a little bit so he was laying on his back and I was laying on top of him.

"Only because you keep falling for it," I replied with a smile.

"Every damn time," he said, pushing the hem of my shirt up a little bit to rub at my lower back. "So you missed me, huh? We were only apart for six hours."

"I know," I replied, kissing him again. "Six hours too long."

"You're so damn sweet when you think nobody's paying attention," he mused, kissing me on the side of my head. "How was shopping with Carly and Mel?"

"It was good," I replied. "I got you some stuff."

"Yeah?" he asked, his eyebrows going up. "Anything good?"

"Mmhmm. But no hints for you!" I said, poking him. "You're just gonna have to wait until Christmas!"

"Fine by me," he replied, yawning a bit. "I'm so tired."

"Did you take your shot?" I asked, concerned.

"I don't need to take another one for a few more hours, I'm good," he replied. He yawned again.

"Wanna go to sleep?" I asked him, and he nodded.

"Lay here with me?"

"Uh, duh!" I replied. "I've only been waiting for you to get home so I could!"

"Okay," he said, lifting his head to kiss me. "After that, you wanna go get some dinner?"

"Sure."

"Carly and Brad, or no Carly and Brad?"

"Hmmm," I trailed off, trying to think, before laying my head against his chest, my arm going around him. "Just you and me."

"Okay," he replied. "Love you."

"Love you too," I replied, closing my eyes.

~*Carly*~

"But can't you come over afterward?" I whined on the phone to Brad, flopping down on my bed. I was so frustrated; I hadn't seen Brad all day, and now his parents needed him to babysit again. Just when I thought they'd lighten up on Brad, they were starting to crack down again. I was really appreciative of Mr. Harrison for helping with the Bill situation a few months ago, but beyond that, I didn't like him. He was way too hard on Brad. He was a straight A student, constantly on babysitting duty, and did more than his fair share of housework, but it still wasn't good enough for them! I was amazed Brad was able to keep it together so well, but he did. He was just an amazing person.

"I'll try, babe," he replied. "But it might be really late."

"I don't care," I said softly. "I just want to see you."

"I'll try, I promise. But it depends on whether they'll let me. If I get busted sneaking out one more time this week, my ass is grass."

"Alright. Well maybe they'll be in a good mood when they get back," I responded.

"Let's hope so. I gotta go, babe. Leah's crying. I'll call you or text you in a little while. I love you."

"I love you too," I replied. "Bye, baby."

"Bye, beautiful." With that, he hung up. I continued to stare at my ceiling for a little while, before sitting up. I wonder what Spencer and April are up to. I left my room to head down to the living room, finding Spencer and April sitting at the kitchen table.

"Spencer, we are not doing blue!" April exclaimed. "And especially not that shade of blue!"

"Why not?" Spencer whined. "I like that shade."

I walked over, looking down at the color samples the two of them had spread out on the table, and wrinkled my nose at the blue Spencer was pointing at.

"That's Wal-mart blue!" I exclaimed.

"Yes! Thank you!" April said. "Why not violet?"

"No way," Spencer grunted. "Can you picture me with a violet tie?"

"I was thinking cummerbunds and not ties."

Spencer looked at her, horrified. "No way!"

"So, I guess the wedding planning is going swimmingly," I commented, and Spencer sighed.

"We can't agree on a color scheme. I wanted blues and greens, April wants violets and yellows..."

"Everyone does green and blue, honey! Don't you want to be unique?"

"Wait, why aren't you guys doing winter colors? It's a winter wedding!" I replied.

"Trying to be unique, Carly!" Spencer replied.

"Did you guys finally pick a date?"

"Yes...Valentine's Day!" April gushed.

"But...I thought you guys were trying to be unique...and won't you be showing by then?"

"Only a little, but I'm gonna have an empire waist gown, so it'll hide the bump," April said. "And yeah, maybe Valentine's Day is a little cliché, but it's romantic!"

"True," I replied with a nod. "So why don't you guys do red? Or pink?"

"Over my dead body will I be in a pink wedding," Spencer gruffed. "And April's not a big fan of red."

"Well, compromise then! If you want green and blue, and April wants violet and yellow, just do violet and green."

Spencer and April looked at each other for a moment, before both smiling.

"I'm good with that. What about you, honey-bunny?"

"I like that!" she replied. "It'll be perfect! Thank you, Carly!"

I shrugged. "Anytime." I plopped down at the bar to aimlessly surf the web.

"Brad coming over?"

I shook my head. "He's babysitting again. And I dunno where Sam and Freddie are. I know better than to bother them after a certain time of day anyway..."

"How come?" April asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Those two are always all over each other, and it gets even worse when the sun goes down for some reason. Like, the moon comes up, so do their hormone levels. It's insane!"

"Aw, they're in love, it's sweet. Though it is strange that they're only seventeen, and married."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but it works for them."

"So, Carly..." Spencer said, trailing off to look at me. "We kinda need to talk to you about something."

"What?" I replied absentmindedly, looking at a clothing website. "Ooh, I hope they have that in my size!"

"Carly!" Spencer snapped his fingers to get my attention. "It's really important."

"Sorry," I replied, looking up at him. "What's up?"

"Look, you know April's got that big empty house. And this apartment isn't the best place to raise a baby in."

"Yeah..." I trailed off. Shit. I hadn't even thought about that...Spencer and April were getting married, what was going to happen with me?

"I think you know where I'm going with this," Spencer said with a sigh. "We gotta move out, Carly."

"Wait, we, as in...me included?"

"You're still a minor, Carls!"

"But...my room! My stuff!" I cried. "I love my room!"

"Carly, you can have a room at my house!" April said. "We've got six of them! You can decorate it however you want, I'll even pay for it."

"When?" I asked, biting my bottom lip.

"Soon," Spencer responded.

Another thought crossed my mind, and my eyes widened. "Isn't April's place on the other side of town? I'd have to leave Ridgeway! I can't do that! And I can't leave Bushwell! All my friends are here!"

"Carly, calm down! You can finish out the semester," Spencer said.

"Gee thanks, there's only two weeks left in the semester!" I cried. "And the studio! The show! Oh my god, Spencer! Why can't I just stay here?"

"Number one, you can't afford it, even with your affiliate checks, and number two, you are a MINOR, Carly! You can't live in an apartment by yourself, it's not allowed!"

I stood up. "This is bullshit! Thanks a lot, Spencer! I hate you!" I rushed to the stairs, going up them.

"CARLY!" Spencer yelled. "Please! You're being unreasonable!"

"Leave me alone!" I cried, running up to my room and slamming the door shut. I flung myself down on the bed, sobbing.

Oh my god, this was the worst thing that could have happened! Goodbye Ridgeway! Goodbye my awesome room! Goodbye the iCarly studio!

Less of Brad, less of Sam and Freddie.

I sighed, burying my face in the pillow.

Merry Fucking Christmas.

This sucked.


	78. With A Little Help From My Friends

**A/N: Not much to say about this chapter, just read!**

**Chapter Seventy Eight:  
>With A Little Help From My Friends <strong>

~*Brad*~

"Babe, are you sure you're okay?" I asked Carly, who just shrugged. "You've been acting weird all day."

"I'm fine," she replied softly, looking down at her notebook. "We should really be focusing on ideas for iCarly. Where's Sam?"

"She's in the shower, she'll be here soon," Freddie responded, looking up from his laptop.

I looked back at Carly. Something was really bothering her, she'd been sullen and short with everyone all day, barely talking, not laughing at anyone's jokes. Of course, I wasn't in a much better mood. The letter I'd been dreading for weeks had finally come in the mail. It was settled; I'd been officially accepted into the Marine Academy in New York, and I started in August. I was absolutely heartbroken at the realization that I was going to lose my girlfriend, my friends, my freedom, and my future all at once. I had no clue how I was going to break the news to Carly. The only person I had told was Freddie. I looked over at Carly, still looking sad, and I sat down next to her.

"Hey," I said softly, my hand going to her chin to force her to look at me. "You sure everything's okay? You're not mad at me, are you? I tried to come over last night, I swear, but my parents wouldn't let me!"

She gave me a small smile. "I'm fine, baby. I'm not mad at you. I know how your parents are. I'm just a little tired, okay? I had trouble sleeping last night, too many lattes."

I nodded slowly, not sure whether to believe her or not. "Okay. You'd tell me if something was bothering you?"

"Of course," she replied, leaning forward to give me a kiss, but it felt perfunctory, didn't have that normal Carly spark to it. Uh-oh. I didn't have a good feeling about this.

Before I could ruminate any further, Sam burst through the door, literally skipping into the studio. "Hello, everyone!"

I eyeballed her carefully. "You seem happy."

"Oh, I'm ecstatic!" She replied.

"Are you on drugs?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"Nope. I am not."

"Then what's the deal, Sam?" Carly asked.

The whole time we'd been questioning her, Freddie had been glaring at her, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hi, baby," she said with a smile.

He stepped forward, his hand going to her hair, frowning. "You didn't take a shower, your hair's dry as a bone! And you're wearing the same clothes as before."

"You're right, I didn't," she responded, shrugging, before pulling something out of her pocket. Upon closer look, it appeared to be a USB memory stick. "Oh Freddie, know what this is?"

Freddie's jaw dropped. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes!" she shouted, jumping up and down. "In your face!"

"What's going on?" Carly asked, confused, and Sam skipped over to her.

"Well, my dear Miss Shay, this here is a memory stick."

"Yeah, we gathered that," I stated with a roll of my eyes. "What's on it?"

"Only my last paper," she said triumphantly.

"NO!" Freddie yelled, his hands going up. "I was this close!"

"So close, yet so far, huh baby?" Sam quipped, walking over to Freddie's laptop and giving him a little push out of the way. "All I gotta do is stick it in the USB drive, like so, then log into the school website, and...HEY!" Sam cried out when Freddie grabbed her by the waist, yanking her away from the laptop. "Let go of me!"

"No way!" he yelled. She tried to squirm out his grasp, her foot going up on the desk to give her more leverage, but it just ended up knocking Freddie off balance, both of them falling to the ground. Carly and I just watched as they rolled around the ground, Sam frantically trying to go to the computer. I was concerned at first, but they were both laughing, so I relaxed a bit.

"Let me go, nub!" Sam yelled, trying to crawl away, but Freddie just grabbed her leg, yanking her back to him, before tickling her furiously. "Aaaah! Stop! Stop! Aaaah!"

"Okay, what is up with those two?" Carly asked me as we just sat there watching them wrestle with each other. "They're being weirder than usual."

"Sam and Freddie made a bet over who could finish school first," I replied.

"Oh, god," she moaned. "Does everything have to be a bet with you guys?"

They didn't respond, they were too busy trying take the other one down. Sam managed to knock Freddie onto his back, straddling him, but he quickly got out of it, flipping her onto her back and tickling her again.

"Let me go, Freddie! You are my slave! Accept it!"

"Hell no! I am not going to stop tickling you until you surrender! I had literally a few hundred words left!"

"Resistance is futile!" she gasped, trying to squirm away.

"So how did the bet work exactly?" Carly asked me, and I laughed, shaking my head.

"They bet each other the loser would be the other one's slave for a month."

"Oh my god!" she cried, her hands going to her face. "Those two, I swear..."

I shrugged. "At least it's entertaining."

"Incoming!" Sam yelled, getting free of Freddie finally and running past us around the room. She ducked behind one of the props, Freddie right behind her, and barely managed to slide away, running back to the laptop.

"Logged in!" she yelled, squealing when Freddie got ahold of her again and yanked her away from the computer.

"You guys!" Carly yelled, annoyed. They continued to ignore her, back on the ground again, Sam still trying to squirm free, literally dragging herself across the floor like a wounded seal, continually getting pulled back by Freddie. I rolled my eyes; there was no telling how long this could go on for.

"Almost...there!" Sam yelled, finally freeing herself and running to the computer, hitting a few buttons before raising her arms in victory. "SENT! I am done! You lose!"

"Dammit!" Freddie yelled, grabbing her again. Once again, as predicted, they were on the floor again, rolling around and tickling each other, finally coming to a stop when Freddie had managed to be on top of her, pinning her wrists to the ground. They just stared at each other for a moment, breathing heavy from the last ten minutes of fighting over Sam trying to get her paper in.

"You guys..." I warned, knowing exactly where this was leading, but it was too late, they were kissing. Laying down. On the floor. On top of each other. Oh god, I can't watch this. I sighed, covering my face with my hands. "And there they go. You see that? All that fighting, just foreplay."

"Oh my god, not on the floor, are you serious?" Carly yelled. "Give me a break!"

They finally pulled away, and Freddie stood up, leaning down to grab Sam's hand and pull her up to him, kissing her again.

"You lose," she said softly, and he smirked at her.

"Well played, baby."

"Thanks. You gave me a run for my money though."

"Yeah, I thought I had this one in the bag. You baited me, didn't you?"

She shrugged, grinning. "Maybe a little."

He laughed a little. "I hate you."

"I hate you more," she replied, before kissing him. I rolled my eyes. Only with Sam and Freddie did 'I hate you' really mean 'I love you'.

"Are you guys DONE?" I yelled. "You can paw each other later! We gotta get down to business!"

"Ugh, fine," Sam replied with a roll of her eyes. "What's on the agenda?"

Carly sighed. "We need more bits."

"Okay, I have an idea, but I'm afraid you may be mad over it," Sam commented to Carly, and Carly's eyebrows went up.

"Why?"

"Just...keep an open mind, okay?"

"I'll try. Let's hear it."

"You know that movie Clerks?"

"Uh-huh," Carly said, looking at her quizzically. "So?"

"Shay and Silent Boobs," Sam replied with a grin.

"Aw, NICE!" I yelled. "Carly, come on! That's brilliant!"

Carly just shook her head, laughing a little. "You're right. It is. We gotta do it."

"Very nicely done, baby," Freddie told Sam, kissing her on her neck. She shrugged a little.

"It just came to me."

"Well it's a great one!" Carly replied. "But maybe we should expand it from a bit to a short?"

"Ooh, directing?" Freddie asked, brightening up. "Please please please?"

"Yes, Freddie," Carly laughed a bit. "Okay, we'll start writing the script tomorrow, shooting on Wednesday, then it should be all done being edited by Thursday, right?" she looked at me and Freddie, and we both nodded.

"You got it, babe," I replied.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Carly said, looking at Sam and Freddie. "You two blew through your entire senior year in three months?"

"Uh-huh," Freddie responded. "It's pretty easy when you don't have all the extra school drama dragging you down. A nice bet really tends to get your ass in gear too."

"Your ass is gonna be in gear for an entire month, baby," Sam said, poking him in the side, and he rolled his eyes.

"So, you guys are done with school, and have nothing to do until college?"

"Yep," Sam replied. "Great, huh?"

"Yeah, well, iCarly should be a flawless cornucopia of comedy unlike the internet has ever seen," Carly replied. "From now on, you two can consider that your full-time job."

"Okay," Sam said. "We can do that."

"Good," Carly replied. "Okay, so the short needs to be around five minutes or so?"

"Maybe we should expand it to ten?" I replied, and she shrugged.

"Okay. If we can flesh out a script that much."

"Please, Carly," Freddie said with a snort. "We got this one."

"Alright, hope you guys are right, because I don't want any leftover time to fill. What else can we do?"

"We haven't messed with Lewbert for awhile," Sam pointed out.

"Okay, what else?" I asked.

"Hmm...well, it's getting really close to Christmas, so...how about we put Gibby in a sort of Santa looking suit, but he can be Sidney Claus, Santa's Jewish cousin, who has to take over reading and answering the Christmas letters for him? We can do a few fake letters and then let viewers send in video letters later, and just run the bit until Christmas," Carly suggested.

"Oh my god, I love that!" Sam cried. "Hey, speaking of Christmas...what is everyone up to this year anyway?"

I shrugged. "Tacoma again."

"Yeah, no offense, but we're not going this time," Freddie said. "That place is cursed."

"No shit. And I get to spend Christmas Eve at a boring mass."

"Carly, you gonna be yakking it up in Yakima?" Sam asked.

"Actually no, April wanted to stay in Seattle to be around her family, so granddad's coming here."

"Oh, sweet," Sam replied with a nod. "Well, Marissa has some sort of Christmas Eve benefit to go to, so...me and Freddie...we're just gonna spend the evening making sure we earn a permanent position on Santa's naughty list," she said, sticking her tongue out.

"Lucky you," Carly grunted, looking over at me. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"Yeah, it sure would be nice having some element of control over my life," I grunted.

"Me too," Carly said wistfully, and I looked at her strangely.

"What do you mean? Carly, compared to me, you've got it made! Spencer lets you do whatever you want for the most part."

"No he doesn't."

"What?" I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to me. "What's up with you today? You're being withdrawn and glum, did you have a fight with your brother or something?"

"No, Brad! It's nothing, okay? Look, I have homework to do, so why don't we just take a break and we'll discuss the show later. Freddie, Sam, get to work on that script, okay?"

"You got it, boss," Freddie responded, yelping a little when Sam elbowed him in the ribcage.

"I'm the boss, remember? For a month?"

"How could I forget?" he grumbled. "Alright, we're gonna get out of here. Brad, gym, two hours?"

"Sure," I replied. "Hey, Sam, try not to exhaust the boy before he manages to get to the gym, okay?"

"I'll do my best, but I'm not making any promises," she responded, before turning to Freddie, grabbing his arm. "Come on baby, let's go back to our place and I'll give you your first command of the month." She dragged him towards the door, and he looked back at me and Carly helplessly.

"Help me!" he whined.

"Come on!" Sam yelled, yanking him out of the studio, leaving me and Carly alone together. I crossed my arms over my chest, staring her down, and she just scowled at me.

"What?" she snapped.

I was a little taken aback by her sudden animosity, but I tried not to show it. "Carly, what's going on with you?"

"I told you, nothing," she replied. "I'm gonna do my homework, I'll call you when I'm done." She brushed past me to walk out the door, but I caught her by her belt, pulling her back to me, arms going around her waist and pressing her back to my chest.

"Bullshit," I growled in her ear. "You're not getting away that easy. Tell me what's bothering you."

"Let go of me," she responded coolly. I was stunned! What was going on with my sweet girlfriend.

"Babe, please tell me if you're mad at me, so I can fix it!" I said.

"I'm not mad, but I'm getting irritated, now let go of me!"

"Fine!" I replied, releasing her. "I thought we'd gotten past all this bullshit, but I guess not."

"Maybe we just need a little bit of space, ever thought about that?"

"What?" I cried. "Since when do you want space from me?"

"We might as well get used to it, it'll be happening soon enough," she grumbled, and I stared at her.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing, never mind," she replied. "Look, I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Oh, my god!" I yelled. "He told you, didn't he? I'm going to kill Freddie!"

Carly's head snapped up. "Told me what?"

Oh, shit.

"Nothing. Forget it," I replied, looking at the ground.

"What are you talking about, Brad?"

"What are YOU talking about, Carly?"

"Tell me first!"

"No! You're the one who's being all weird!"

"Brad!" she hollered. "Come on, tell me the truth!"

"Fine," I sighed. "My dad's making me go to the Marine Academy. In New York. I just got the acceptance letter today."

"Wait, for high school?"

"No, Carly. It's a college."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked softly.

"Because I didn't want you to freak out."

"Oh yeah, that plan worked out great!" she yelled. "I'm not freaking out at all! So you're just gonna run away to New York and leave me behind? What were you gonna do, wait until the last second and dump me?"

"I'm not gonna dump you, Carly! I love you! We can make this work!"

"Why can't you just stay?" she cried. "You don't have to go!"

"I do, Carly! You know how my dad is! You know how my family is! I don't have a choice!"

"Oh my god, Brad, man up!" Carly responded, glaring at me. I just shook my head. Wrong thing to say.

"It's real easy for you to say. You get away with bloody murder and Spencer does nothing to stop you from doing anything! You can go where you want, do what you want, you have no responsibility, no siblings to look after! You could at least TRY to understand!"

"I don't have it all peachy-keen either, Brad! And if you wanna know why I was upset before, Freddie didn't tell me anything a stupid Marine Academy!"

"Then what, Carly? What is it?"

"I'm moving!" she yelled. "Out of Bushwell, on the other side of Seattle, into April's big ass mansion on the outskirts! At the end of the month! I have to leave Ridgeway, my room, this apartment, you, Sam and Freddie! The studio's gone, the show's gonna suffer, and you can never get away, so I'm hardly ever going to be able to see you! And now I find out you're just gonna leave me to go to school in New York! You don't care about me at all!"

"That's not true, Carly! I love you!" I yelled. "Please, stop being like this! You leaving Bushwell isn't that big of a deal, and we can make it work after I go to school too!"

"It is a big deal!" she shouted. "This is my home! This is the longest I've ever stayed in one place my entire life! We bounced all over the place, house to house, with my dad being in the Air Force! And I finally get in a place I love, with my friends, and then you come along, and now it's all gone!" She started to cry.

"Baby," I whispered, pulling her into my arms and hugging her tightly. "It's okay. Don't cry."

"I can't help it," she sobbed. "I don't want anything to change, and everything is."

"Alright," I replied, kissing the top of her head. "Shh, it's okay."

"I wanna lay down," she said softly. "Will you lay down with me?"

"Yeah, of course. Let's go to your room."

"It's not my room for much longer," she sobbed.

"Calm down, baby. I got you." I lead her out of the studio and into her room, laying down on the bed and pulling her down with me, my arms going around her.

"I don't want you to leave," she whispered.

"I don't want to leave," I replied. "But we can't spend the rest of the time I'm here worrying."

"I'm barely gonna get to see you even before you leave."

"We'll make it work," I responded.

"Promise?"

"I swear, baby. I swear."

Carly just continued to cry, burying her face in my chest, and I held her tightly, stroking her hair, rubbing her back, kissing her on her forehead, trying to calm her, all the while trying to formulate a plan. I hadn't given much thought to how much Carly craved stability, after a childhood of moving all over the country, but now that I did, I realized how much this place, and her current life meant to her. I had to figure something out.

Eventually, the girl ended up crying herself to sleep, still snuggled against me, and I moved an arm out from under her, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

~*Freddie*~

"Take off your shirt," Sam ordered me, and I frowned at her.

"Baby, I'm cold," I responded. She rolled her eyes.

"Then we'll get under the covers. Just do it. You have to." She grinned at me. "You're my slave. Now get that damn shirt off, and get under the blankets, so we can cuddle."

I smirked at her. "You just stomped me in one of our longest running bets to date, and your first order is to cuddle?"

"Uh-huh. Is that a problem?" she responded, and I shook my head.

"Not at all, baby," I responded, whipping my shirt off. She just stood there, her eyes trailing over my body, licking her lips a bit.

"I got me one sexy slave," she teased, and I laughed, pulling her to me.

"Come on, I'm freezing," I replied, getting on the bed and pulling the blankets down. She laid down, and I threw the blankets over us, pulling her against me. "You're so warm."

"Hold me," she responded, and I put my arms around her. "Tighter."

"Good?" I asked, and she nodded against my chest. We laid there for a little while, not speaking, and I looked down at her. "You're not gonna ask me to do anything weird, are you?"

"Well, not out of the realm of 'us' weird," she replied.

"I guess I'm okay with that," I responded.

"I promise you'll enjoy it as much as me."

"I dunno about that."

"Trust me. It can be sort of...comforting, being forced to give up control," she said softly.

"Is that how you feel when I get all dominating on you?" I replied, and she nodded.

"Yeah. In the past, every time I didn't have control over a situation, I usually ended up getting hurt. But with you, I don't worry about it. You make feel so safe."

"Good," I replied, kissing her. "That's how I want you to feel."

"You're like my protector," she said. "I love you so much, Freddie."

"I love you too, baby."

"No," she said, "Call me your sweet sweet baby."

"My sweet, sweet baby. I love you," I whispered in her ear.

"After you send in your final, we'll both be done," she said, her fingertips tracing small circles over my chest.

"Yeah, we will," I replied.

"And then we apply for college."

"Yep."

"What if I don't get in?"

"Sam," I said, lifting her chin to look at me. "You absolutely KILLED it this year. You did amazing on the SATs. You've got in in the bag, baby."

She nodded slowly. "Okay." She laid her head back down on my chest, and I could tell she was listening to my heartbeat. She had a thing about it the same way I had a thing about playing with her hair; it was a source of comfort.

My phone beeped at me, and I leaned over Sam to pick it up.

"It's from Brad," I told her, opening the message.

Brad: Get back over here now. We gotta talk.

'Everything alright?' I texted back.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"No idea, but Brad wants us to go back across the hall."

Beep!

Brad: Not really. Just get over here.

I sighed, stretching a bit. "Get up baby, let's go find out what's going on." I paused. "Am I allowed to put my shirt back on?"

"For now," Sam responded, sitting up. "Man, one of these days the drama's gonna cease. It has to."

"How do you figure?" I replied.

"Because we're running out of problems."

I couldn't help but laugh. She had a point.

We headed back across the hall, knocking on the door, and a moment later Brad pulled the door open.

"What's going on?" I asked as Sam and I walked inside.

"Sit down," Brad responded. "I'll be right back."

"Brad! What's the deal?" Sam hollered as Brad walked off in the direction of Spencer's room, banging on the door. Brad ignored her, calling to Spencer instead.

"Spencer! Get out here dude! We gotta talk!"

Sam and I shot worried looks at each other; Brad and Spencer weren't exactly best buds, there was no telling what he could possibly be up to.

Spencer stalked out a moment later with April in tow, looking annoyed, and Sam poked me suddenly.

"Freddie, get up," she said.

"What? Why?"

"Let the pregnant lady sit," Sam replied.

"Sam, I'm fine," April started, but Sam cut her off with a raise of her hand.

"No, please." She stood up, grabbing my hands and pulling me to my feet. "Come on, baby." She turned to April. "There ya go."

"Thanks," April responded, sitting down, and Spencer plopped down next to her. "I thought you said she was the mean one," she said, looking at Spencer.

"WHAT?" Sam cried.

"Easy, baby," I said, pulling her back. "Sam's not mean, she's a little feisty, but she has those rare moments she can be nice."

"True, I guess," Spencer responded. "Brad, what's going on?"

"You cannot take Carly out of Bushwell."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "Look, Brad, I don't think you get it. April has a house already, a big one, all on one story. This apartment is awesome, yes, and I love it, but it's not a place to raise a baby in!"

"And I don't think YOU get it, Spencer! Carly's really upset about this! She loves this place! This place is like...the very symbol of stability to her!"

"Brad, it's not up for discussion..."

"Come ON, Spencer! What was it like for you growing up, moving all over the damn country, having to constantly make new friends, adjust to a new place, constantly having to pack and unpack? I bet it sucked! Well it sucked for Carly too! You're thirty, you had plenty of time to get over it, but Carly's only been in here for four years, and it's the longest she's ever been anywhere! You can't just take it from her!"

"And what should I do instead, Brad? Leave April's house sitting there empty, and raise our baby in a place that's not safe for an infant or toddler? Multi-level places like this are not safe for kids!"

"I get that, okay? That's why my parents got the one level apartment, but still, Spencer..."

"It's not up for discussion, we are moving out!"

"Oh my god!" Sam blurted out. "When was all this decided?"

"We told Carly yesterday," April said softly.

"Oof!" I gasped as Sam hit me in the chest. "What the hell?"

"That's why she was acting so removed today!" Sam said to me, and I nodded.

"I thought it was because of Brad having to go to New York for college, but..."

"Wait, WHAT?" Sam yelled, looking at Brad and then me. "Why am I out of the loop of everything all of a sudden? What the hell, you guys?"

"Sam, we'll talk about that later," Brad said. "Right now, I'm concerned about Carly! Look, Spencer, you guys can move, but why can't Carly stay HERE? You're taking her out of her school her senior year!"

"Carly can't stay here by herself, she's a minor!"

"Yeah, but...they're not," Brad replied, pointing at me and Sam.

"Oh god," I groaned. "You're pulling us into stuff again, why are me and Sam ALWAYS getting pulled into stuff?"

Brad ignored me. "From a legal perspective, they are adults in the eyes of the courts, Spencer! And I'm assuming backing out of your lease early is gonna cost you a lot, am I right? Like three months worth of rent?"

"Brad, that's not really a problem..." April started.

"April, please? Just let me finish, please," Brad replied. "You could sublet them the apartment, use the money you'd save on canceling your lease on your wedding."

Spencer looked over at us, like he was considering it, and I glared at Brad.

"You know, you could ask me before you throw me and wife into this!"

"Brad has a point though," Sam commented, and I gaped at her.

"Sam!" I exclaimed. "What happened to getting our own place? You know, privacy? All that good stuff?"

"But...I don't want Carly to move!" she replied. "And we'd split the rent, we could afford this place with the affiliate checks! We wouldn't have to wait!"

"Sam," I said, glaring at her.

"Freddie."

"Sam!"

"Freddie!"

"SAM!" I whined, flopping down in the chair. "This wasn't the plan!"

"Are you gonna let our best friend move to the other side of town? What about the show?" Sam replied.

"It'd be good for your credit," Brad commented in a sing-song voice, and I glared at him.

"Ugh, dammit!" I growled. "I hate when you're right."

"Sorry dude, didn't mean to hit you with logic," Brad responded. "Spencer, come on! You know it's a good idea! For everybody! It gets Sam and Freddie out of Freddie's mom's apartment, Carly gets to stay in her apartment with her room that she loves, in her school, with her friends she loves, it's not gonna hurt the show like moving would, and you'd save money for your wedding! It's a good idea!"

Spencer sat there for a good two minutes in absolute silence, drumming his fingers on his knee, before finally looking up at us. "Okay. If Sam and Freddie move in and sublet, then I'll go for it. But I'll be dropping in, ON THE REGULAR. And no more drinking."

"Freddie can't drink alcohol anymore," Sam stated. "Diabetes, remember? So I don't have much of a desire to do it either anymore, and Carly's always been the responsible one, so..."

"Alright, fine. But you gotta sign a lease for a year!" Spencer said.

"A year?" I responded, making a face.

"Baby, that'll give us time to save up," Sam pointed out, her hand going to my back. "Please? For Carly?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. The things I let my friends drag me into... "Okay, fine."

"WHOO!" Sam and Brad yelled, both of them bouncing up and down.

I rolled my eyes again. "Even when you're only in the know for two minutes, you still manage to have a hand in the final outcome," I said to Sam. "How the hell do you do that?"

She shrugged. "It's a gift."

"See, and now you guys get newlywed bliss without having your kid sister hanging around," Brad pointed out to Spencer and April.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Spencer responded, giving April a grin.

"How come we didn't get newlywed bliss?" I grumbled, and Brad shot me a Look.

"Because you two are fine with waking up the whole damn apartment complex! I'm starting to think you guys are just trying to see how loud you can get!"

"Ew, let's not talk about that," Spencer said, standing up, and I glared at him, before giving up.

Spencer walked to the staircase, going up a few steps. "Carly? CARLY! CAR-LAY!"

"WHAT?" Carly screamed down, sounding clearly upset.

"Get down here, now! I gotta talk to you!" Spencer yelled in a firm voice.

We all heard a door slam, and then STOMP STOMP STOMP, down the stairs came Carly.

"What do you want?" she grunted, glaring at Spencer.

"Don't talk to me like that. Come down here, we gotta talk."

"Fine," Carly grumbled. She acknowledged Sam and I with a nod, but didn't speak, perching on the coffee table. "Talk."

"You're staying."

Carly looked up at Spencer, confused. "What?"

"You don't have to leave Bushwell."

"What?" she asked, leaping to her feet, sounding hopeful. "Why? What's going on?"

Spencer gestured to Brad. "Your boyfriend pulled a fast one on me."

"What? What does that mean?"

"Oh nothing, I just found you some new roommates," Brad responded, grabbing her arm and pulling her to him.

"Roommates?" Carly asked, her brow furrowing, still not getting it. "Who?"

Brad pointed at me and Sam.

"Yo," I said, while Sam just gave a little wave.

"Oh my god!" Carly exclaimed, her hands flying to her face. "Seriously?"

"Mmmhmm," Sam responded. "We're gonna sublet, split the rent three ways."

"Oh my god!" Carly said again. "But...what about your own place, privacy, all that?"

"Eh, privacy can wait a little while," I said with a wave of my hand. "We didn't want you to have to leave."

"You guys!" Carly squealed, kissing Brad and then skipping over to Sam and hugging her fiercely. "Oh my god, ROOMIES!"

"Eeee!" Sam yelled excitedly, and they both started jumping up and down. Brad and I just shot each other amused looks.

"Okay, so when does all this go down?" I asked Spencer, who shrugged.

"New Year's Day?" he replied, and I nodded.

"Alright, sounds good," I replied. "Sam? Sam?" I looked around to find Carly and Sam gone. "Where the hell did they go?"

"They went upstairs, something about decorating."

"Oh god," I groaned.

I still wasn't totally thrilled with the idea of moving in with Carly instead of Sam and I getting our own place, but this was definitely faster, we'd be able to put more effort into the show, and be out of my mom's hair. I'm sure she was getting sick of hanging out in her bedroom all the time, even if it was with Dr. Robert. But I was fine with doing it as a solid to Carly, she was one of my best friends, and I didn't want her to move out.

I just hoped I'd be able to handle living with Sam AND Carly.


	79. Chapter 79: Besame Mucho

**Chapter Seventy Nine:  
>Besame Mucho<strong>

~*Sam*~

"Carly!" I yelled as I walked into her unlocked apartment. "Where are you?"

"Here!" Carly said, her head poking up between the sea of boxes scattered all over the living room. "What up?"

"Dude, Spencer's got a LOT of stuff," I commented.

"That he does," Carly agreed. "I feel like we're never going to get this done!"

"Okay, well, stop!" I stated, my hands on my hips. "I need your help!"

"With what?"

"With this!" I replied, grabbing a handful of my hair. "You know I can't straighten my own hair!"

"But we still have like three hours before we have to start getting ready," Carly replied.

"Come on, Shay! You know straightening out this mass of curls is an all day event!" I whined. "Help me!"

"Doesn't Freddie like your hair the way it is?"

I frowned, my hands on my hips. "Well, yeah, but doing something different every now and then always throws him for a loop. In a good way."

Carly shrugged. "Okay. I need your help trying to decide on final outfit choices anyway."

"Just think," I said, grinning a bit. "In a few more days I won't have to walk across the hall, just up the stairs."

"Eeee!" Carly cried excitedly, worming her way through the endless maze of cardboard. "Okay, let's go! Brad and Freddie still gymming it up?"

"I think so," I replied. "Those two are getting pretty sneaky though, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know," Carly replied with a roll of her eyes. "I still can't believe Brad managed to convince Spencer to let me stay, and to let you guys sublet."

We headed up the stairs to Carly's room, shutting the door behind us, and I flopped down on the bed.

"Okay, choices!" I hollered.

It was three days before Christmas, and Brad would be leaving tomorrow to go to Tacoma, so the four of us had decided to go out tonight. Quisp was having a holiday event, and I was determined to make this a good night, with absolutely no drama whatsoever. Of course, it was anybody's guess how THAT would turn out, but I was hoping for the best.

I was so, so excited at the prospect of moving in with Carly. The thought of living under one roof with the two people I cared about more than anyone, Freddie and Carly, was amazing to me, and Carly had already mentioned she didn't like the idea of living in dorms once we got to college, so this was better for everyone. Poor Freddie though, he was really going to have his hands full with us! We were all still pretty bummed out at the news of Brad having to go away to New York for college though. That absolutely sucked. Despite all the drama, the four of us made a really good team, and Brad was an integral part of it. Mine and Freddie's relationship literally would not have survived without Brad. I was sad to see him go, and I knew Carly was going to have a very difficult time without him around. He was her first love. I wondered if they'd be able to make it, all with the separation and the distance.

Carly pawed through her closet, pulling out a few options and laying them on the bed.

"There's the red dress from before," she stated, and I shook my head.

"Brad's already seen you in that one. Next."

"There's THIS red dress." It was a strapless, short dress with sparkles on it, very short. "I could wear it with those black lace tights and that faux fur jacket."

"It's a possibility," I shrugged. "What else?"

"This gray one."

I wrinkled my nose. "It looks like something for a job interview."

"What the hell kind of job, Sam? Look how low-cut it is!"

I shrugged. "It might help you land the job if the boss is a guy."

"What job? Focus!" Carly hollered, going back to her closet. "This one?"

"Oooh..." I said, running my hand over the fabric of the white lace dress. "I like!"

"You don't think it's too sweet and innocent?"

I laughed a little. "Brad likes sweet and innocent, remember?"

"Yeah, but I'm not really innocent anymore."

"True," I said with a shrug, laughing as she threw a pillow at my head. "Alright, the sparkly red one with the tights and the fur."

"I think I might wear my hair up tonight..." she commented, looking at herself in her vanity mirror, holding her hair up.

"I think you should, it'd be hot!"

"So what are you wearing tonight?" she asked, and I smirked.

"The silvery-gray dress..."

"The one that pushes your boobs up to your chin?"

"That be the one. With the boots."

Carly gasped. "THE boots?"

"Oh yes, THE boots." The boots I was referring to were a pair of high-heeled black suede thigh high boots that I had picked up during our shopping trip to buy the boys their gifts. Carly thought they were slutty, but I knew Freddie would absolutely die when he saw me in them. "And then my leather jacket, and it's a done deal."

"Wow, you're really going in for the kill tonight, Sam..." Carly commented, and I nodded.

"That boy ain't gonna know what hit him," I responded. "And I might even overdo it on the eye makeup a little tonight."

"Don't you think you'll look...a little slutty?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, but I know who I'm going home with. He likes when I bring out the bad girl. He likes it a LOT."

Carly just laughed. "God, you guys are gonna kill each other tonight!"

"Oh yeah," I replied. "It's gonna be like a damn cage fight. I hope he really loses it and slams me into a wall or something..." I trailed off, biting my lip as I thought about all the stuff Freddie could possibly do to me if I worked him up enough. When he lost it, he lost it hard, and I loved every second of it.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Carly stated with a laugh. "Sit down, I'll turn the flat-iron on."

"K," I replied, plopping down on her chair. "So, Brad goes to Tacoma tomorrow."

"Yeah," she said softly, pinning up part of my hair. "I wish he didn't have to go."

"I know, but he'll be back," I reminded her. "At least you guys get to spend New Year's Eve together."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I've gotta spend all the time I can with him. August is gonna come along quick."

"Well," I said with a grin. "Spencer's moving stuff to April's tonight, and he'll probably end up sleeping there. You and Brad are gonna have the whole place to yourselves."

"I know," she said with a little squeal. "Maybe we'll...you know...somewhere else other than my bed."

"You'll what?"

"You know what I mean!"

"No, I don't," I teased, trying to be oblivious. "Why don't you tell me?"

"You know...being intimate?" Carly said in a small voice, sounding uncomfortable, and I laughed.

"You mean, do it? Have sex? Intercourse?"

"Shut up!" she laughed. "I'm not still comfortable talking about it!"

"God, Carly!" I said, looking up at her. "You guys have been having sex for awhile now! Get over it! Are you this like...do you hold back this much in bed?"

Carly rolled her eyes. "I am not talking about how I am in bed."

"Carly! Come on! I mean, there's nothing to be embarrassed about! Everybody has sex! It's a natural human function."

"But it's still a private matter!" Carly responded. "I mean, for MOST people." She gave me the hairy eyeball. "You know you and Freddie are gonna have to learn to tone down the volume a little bit, right?"

"All we can do is try, but it's not easy, trust me," I sighed. "The boy's just so damn good at it...he makes me lose it."

"Uh, Brad's good at it too, but I don't scream at the top of my lungs like a banshee!"

I shrugged. "Well maybe Freddie's better at it than Brad. I mean, he does get way more time to practice."

"How many times a week do you think you guys do it?"

"Oh god," I said with a laugh. "I have no idea! Let's see..." I paused, doing math in my head, thinking about how many times a day we went at it. "Probably somewhere between ten and fifteen times a week."

"Oh my god!" Carly exclaimed. "Brad and I only have sex like two or three times a week! How do you get anything else DONE?"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on dude, it's not that much. Just...you know, when we wake up, and before bed, and sometimes in between that. Of course, we spend a lot of time making out too, so..." I trailed off. "God, you're right, how DO we get anything done?"

"Now you finally see what everyone else sees!" Carly stated. "You guys are ALWAYS all over each other! All the time! Even if you're not making out, you can't be more than two feet away from each other!"

I shrugged. "I love him. I don't like being away from him."

"So? I love Brad, doesn't mean I want to be superglued to him all the time."

I looked up at her, a sympathetic expression on my face. "You may be changing your mind soon, Carls."

She sighed. "Yeah, I know." I watched her shake her head, trying to clear her thoughts, before looking at my hair critically. "Okay, be still. This is gonna take awhile."

~*Freddie*~

"Ow!" I hollered, taking a step back and grimacing, twisting my shoulder a bit. "Easy, Tyson!"

"Sorry," Brad said sheepishly, bouncing up and down, hitting his gloves together. "Again?"

"Fine, just remember, you're not trying to knock me out, dude!" I got back into fighting stance. "Go!" I threw a left hook, but Brad ducked it, before hitting me three times in the chest.

"Dude, easy!" I yelled. "We're working out, not trying to kill each other! What's up?"

"Ugh, sorry!" Brad replied. "My dad is driving me nuts! I wish I were in the ring with him instead of you, because honestly I'd kick his ass right now!"

"Is this about the marine academy?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"No. Now he wants me to cut my hair!"

"But it's so thick and luxurious," I teased, frowning when Brad took a step toward me. "Easy, dude!"

"He wants me to do it now instead of before I get to the academy, but I don't wanna cut my hair in the middle of winter. I don't wanna cut my hair period! It's my thing!"

"So don't cut it, Jesus!" I exclaimed. "It's not like you to let people push you around, man."

"He's my dad," Brad grumbled. "I have to do what he says."

"Whatever," I responded. "Look, just chill, alright? Christmas is in three days, we're going out tonight with our hot ass girls, and..." I frowned suddenly. "Shit, what time is it?"

"It's five. We don't have to be back for awhile."

"No! I have to get to the jewelry store to pick up the bracelet!" I shouted. I threw my gloves off, just dropping them in the center of the ring, before hopping over the rope. "Come on, let's go!"

"So the engraving's done?" Brad asked as we hauled ass to the locker room.

"Yep. Finally figured it out," I replied. "She's going to absolutely love it."

"Cool," Brad said with a nod. "How's it going with uh...the bet?"

I groaned. "Man, she's really making work for it."

"How so?"

"Uh..." I trailed off, grinning a bit. "Put it this way, my jaw was sore when I went to sleep last night. You know, what little bit of sleep I did get."

"Damn, dude!" he laughed. "That bad, huh?"

I shrugged. "Guess I don't mind that much. I'm very dedicated to my work."

"Yeah, I know. The entire complex knows by now."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" I replied, laughing a bit. "I got a real talent for making that girl scream."

"You know Carly's gonna kill you guys if you keep her up at night."

"We'll work on it. Maybe when it gets warm we'll switch to the fire escape."

"Why, so the entire city of Seattle can hear you?"

"We're very ambitious."

Brad laughed, shoving me a little. "Dude, hurry up. We gotta get that bracelet, get back, get ready...and then go party with Sam and Carly."

"Yep," I replied. "Let's do it. What?" I asked as Brad gave me a Look.

"How many times a day do you say that to Sam?"

~*Brad*~

"Guys, I'm leaving!" I yelled to my parents, heading for the door. "Be back a little after midnight!"

"Hold it!" my dad yelled, and I froze in my tracks, sighing, before slowly turning around.

"What?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

I gave him a strange look. "I told you two days ago I was going out with Carly and Freddie and Sam tonight. And you said it was fine!"

"Well," my dad replied. "We got a last minute invitation for one of our things." I grimaced, and he continued. "So I'm gonna need you to watch the kids."

I shook my head slowly. "No."

My dad looked shocked, then pissed. "What did you just say?"

"I said, NO! We're leaving tomorrow, I wanted to spend time with Carly tonight!"

"What are you gonna do, go play with cameras some more?" my dad growled, and I rolled my eyes.

"She's my girlfriend, you think that's ALL we do?" I replied pointedly.

"You're too young to settle on one girl, Bradley. You should be dating around. When I was your age, I was dating three or four girls at one time!"

I scoffed. "Yeah, let me go do that, so in twenty years I can strap my wife down to a table and beat the shit out of her and call it sex! No thanks, just because you had to bang a bunch of chicks to prove your manhood doesn't mean I do. Sorry pops, I'm out for the night."

I went to open the door, but my dad grabbed the back of my jacket, yanking me back. "You are staying here, with the kids, your mother and I are going out, and that's final! Got it?"

I whirled around, glaring at him. "No, I don't got it. You've already ruined my past and my future, let me have one FUCKING night, Dad!"

"Watch your mouth, or I'll do it for you," he responded in a firm voice.

"What are you gonna do, hit me?" I replied, taking a step toward him.

"Don't push me, Bradley."

"You've never done it before, you should've started when I was kid, cuz now I'm grown up enough to put up a fight."

My dad snorted, looking me up and down. "You got your mother's skinny genes, couldn't be much of a fight."

"You wanna find out?" I yelled. I didn't know what was going through my head, and I wondered if I had completely lost my mind when I suddenly shoved my dad backwards.

"Bradley!" My mother yelled as she rushed out of their bedroom. "What's gotten into you?"

"You have!" I yelled. "Both of you! I'm sick of this shit! I've been the perfect son my entire life, at the cost of my own happiness! Do you even care about what you're doing to me? Or Heather? And you're just gonna fuck Bryson and Leah up too!"

"Keep it up, Bradley, and..."

"And what, Dad? You'll send me to military school in Texas? It's too damn late for that, and you know it! You can't hold that shit over my head anymore! You can ground me all you want tomorrow. TONIGHT, I'm going out. With my girlfriend. Who I love. Next time you want me to watch YOUR kids, maybe you'll let me know in advance!" With that, I rushed to the door, running out, before my dad could get a hold of me.

"BRADLEY!" he yelled out the door. "Get your ass back here!"

I didn't respond, just headed for the stairs, rushing up to Carly's apartment and banging on the door loudly. It opened a moment later, revealing Freddie.

"Sup dude?"

I didn't respond, just pushed him aside and fell back onto the couch, out of breath. Freddie stared at me, concerned.

"You okay?"

I shook my head slowly. "No."

Freddie's brow furrowed "Why? What's going on?"

"I got in a fight with my dad," I replied. "He tried to get me to stay at the last minute and watch the kids."

"And you stood up to him?" Freddie asked brightly. "Dude, nice! It's about time!"

I sighed, resting my head in my hands. "Dude, you don't get it. I PUSHED him."

"What?"

"He yanked me back into the apartment when I was trying to leave, and I shoved him. Hard. God, what the fuck is wrong with me? He's my father!"

Freddie sat down next to me. "Okay," he said slowly. "Maybe you shouldn't have done that, but have you EVER stood up to him before?"

"Not really," I replied.

"Then this isn't as bad as you may think, Brad! It's actually a good thing, maybe he won't keep pushing you around so much if he knows you're gonna push back."

"Yeah, right," I said with a roll of my eyes. "The old man's gonna kick my ass when I get home."

"Well, if that's the case, you'd better have a good time tonight, while you can, right? Maybe he'll take pity on you with it being Christmas and all."

"Maybe," I replied. "Where's the girls?"

"Upstairs," Freddie replied with a roll of his eyes. "Still getting ready. They're taking forever."

"What do you expect?"

"Yeah, I know. Man, I'm starting to think this whole moving in thing is a bad idea. I'm gonna have to share my wife with Carly full-time now."

"Oh, really?" I said with a mischievous grin.

"Dude, shut up!" Freddie said with a laugh, nudging me. "Not like that."

I gave him a sideways glance. "Be honest though man, the idea of those two...like...together..."

"Yeah, that'd be hot as hell," Freddie replied, his eyebrows going up, and I nodded in agreement. Freddie looked down at his watch before standing up and walking to the staircase.

"Ladies, get a move on!" he shouted up the stairs. "It's like nine-thirty!"

"We'll be right there, keep your pants on!" Sam yelled down at him, and he rolled his eyes, walking back over to the couch.

"That's gotta be the first time she's ever said that to you," I commented, and he nodded.

"Yeah, probably. Gonna give Carly her presents tonight?"

"Yep," I replied. "They're still stashed away in your apartment?"

"Yeah, in the hall closet, with the presents for Sam. She never goes in there. After we get back you can get them."

"Sweet," I responded.

"Ahem," I heard a familiar female voice say, and I turned around, my jaw instantly dropping.

"Holy hell," I stated, my eyes as wide as saucers.

Carly giggled. "You like, baby?"

I stood up, walking over to her. "Uh-huh. I like a lot." Good god, she was in a short, sparkly strapless red dress that really set off her pale skin, her hair pulled up, her mile-long legs encased in black lace. I wanted to drag her back upstairs and spend the rest of the night in bed with her! I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to me and kissing her. "You look absolutely gorgeous, baby."

"Where's Sam?" Freddie asked her, and she just gave him a smile.

"She's coming. Just finishing with a few final touches."

"Final touches?"

"Mmhmm. You may have a heart attack over this one," she replied, before looking back at me. "You okay? You seem a little out of it..."

I sighed. "Had a fight with my dad. It got a little out of hand."

"Oh, god," Carly stated with a roll of her eyes. "Baby, just...try not to worry about it tonight, okay? I wanna have a good time, before you have to leave for three days."

"Yeah, I know," I said with a sigh. "I'll try, okay?"

"And I'll try to keep your mind off it," she responded, kissing me on the side of my neck. I smirked at her, before kissing her again.

"Shouldn't be too hard, especially in that dress."

"Sam!" Freddie yelled up the stairs. "Get your sexy ass down here!"

"Coming!" she responded. I heard Carly's bedroom door slam, and then the click-clack of heels, but I was a little too focused on how beautiful my girlfriend looked to pay attention to anything else.

"You look so beautiful," I murmured in her ear. "Gonna let me show you how beautiful I think you are when we get back?"

"All night, if you want," she replied. "By the way, I like this sweater on you. Same color as your eyes."

I looked at her outfit suddenly and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Needs something," I murmured. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." I turned to Freddie. "Dude, keys?"

Freddie pulled his keys out of his pocket and tossed them at me. "It's in the hall closet, you better not go poking around me and Sam's room."

"Yeah, that's totally me," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "Besides, I'm scared at what I'd find in there."

With that, I walked across the hall to Freddie and Sam's, sticking the key in the door, and going to the closet.

~*Freddie*~

"Sam! Come on!" I whined. "I'm tired of waiting." I flopped down on the couch, annoyed, half wondering if she was just trying to mess with me.

"Worth the wait?" I heard Sam say, and I turned to look, before leaping off the couch, my jaw dropping in shock.

I don't think I had EVER seen Sam look sexier in my life than I had at that exact moment. The dress. The hair. The makeup. Her very, very visible cleavage. But holy hell, those shoes.

"Say something," Sam prodded me as I walked over to her.

"Uh...I...I got nothing," I finally said stupidly. "Wow."

She laughed. "Okay, use your mouth for something else then," she said, grabbing my shirt collar and pulling me down to her, kissing me. I growled against her mouth, my hands going around her waist to pull her against me, unable to stop one hand from drifting down to her ass and squeezing.

"You look so fucking sexy," I whispered in my ear. "Give me five minutes. Please?"

She shook her head slowly. "Nope. I'd much rather have you riled up the rest of the night. It'll be much better that way."

"I'm riled up already," I stated, grinding against her. "Please?"

"No," she said simply. "You gotta wait."

"Sam!" I whined. "You're gonna drive me nuts in that dress. And those boots." All I could picture was her wearing nothing but those shoes, her legs wrapped around me, moaning. God, I couldn't take it. I kissed her again, before kissing her neck, moving lower, dangerously close to her cleavage. Just a little bit further down...

"Guys!" I heard Carly say. "I'm standing RIGHT HERE!"

"Alright," Sam sighed, trying to pull away, but I wouldn't let her.

"Please," I whispered in her ear. "Just let me get it out of my system really quick."

"No, I want you so fired up you can't stand it," she replied, pulling away from me and smoothing out her dress.

"I'm already fired up," I grunted. "And you know it."

"I know, baby," she replied, kissing me on the cheek. "I didn't dress like this just for kicks."

"You're killing me," I groaned, unable to stop myself from checking out her ass as she brushed past me and walked away, sitting on the couch.

"I'm back!" Brad yelled, flinging the door open and walking in, stopping in his tracks when he saw Sam. "Jesus."

"You like?"

He shook his head. "Um, if you want me to be honest, you kinda look like a streetwalker."

"Brad!" she yelled, throwing a pillow at him.

"What?" he replied with a glare. "You asked, I told you my opinion. Okay, maybe not a streetwalker, definitely a pornstar, or maybe a stripper."

"Very nice," she responded with a roll of her eyes.

"Dude, don't call my wife a streetwalker," I warned him, and he shrugged.

"I said she looked like one, you like this?"

"Hell yeah I like it!" I replied. "She can dress as slutty as she wants when we go out, because at the end of the night she'll be in my bed, no one else's."

"You just like showing her off," Brad pointed out, and I nodded.

"Yep, I do. Nerds don't score chicks like that every day, you know."

"Freddie!" Sam scolded me. "You're not a nerd, stop it."

"Anyway," Brad interrupted with a roll of his eyes, walking over to Carly. "I was gonna wait until later to give you this, but I figured your outfit needed a little something." He handed her the box the necklace was in. "Open it."

"Tiffany's?" she asked, her jaw dropping. "Brad! You didn't have to do all that!"

"Yeah, I did," he said with a shrug. "Open it."

Carly undid the ribbon and pulled the lid off the box, to reveal the necklace, which was white gold, with a snowflake charm, small diamonds all over it, and her eyes widened. "Aww..." she gushed. "It's perfect, I LOVE it."

"Merry Christmas, baby," Brad replied, kissing her. "Want me to put it on?"

"Yes!" she responded, turning around so he could put the necklace on her. "Oh my god, I love this, it's so pretty." After he fastened the clasp, she turned around, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you, baby."

"Not a problem, babe."

"Sam, look!" Carly exclaimed, rushing over to her and bending over so Sam could see the necklace better.

"Aw, it's so pretty!" Sam said. "Nice work, Brad." She stood up suddenly. "Everyone ready?"

"No. I am not ready," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What? Why?" Brad asked, and I just waved him off, staring at Sam.

"Baby," I said, advancing toward her and pulling her to me. "Please. Five minutes. You're gonna drive me insane."

She just gave me a sweet smile. "Nope. You can wait a few hours." She turned and walked toward the door, grabbing her leather jacket off the coat rack and putting it on.

"So it's like that, huh?" I growled.

"Mmhmm, it is. I want you good and riled up tonight."

"Fine," I replied, glaring at her. "Two can play that game."

"Game?" Sam asked, her eyebrows going up, before nodding. "Okay. Game on."

"Game? What game?" Carly asked, looking back and forth between me and Sam fearfully.

"Double or nothing on the last bet?" I asked. "See who caves first?"

"Guys, no more bets!" Carly whined, but we ignored her.

Sam stared at me for a second, considering what I'd said. "Okay, whoever caves first loses. Hope you're ready to be my slave for TWO months."

"I doubt that," I replied, shaking my head.

"We'll see," she said with a smirk, opening the door. "Brad, Carly, you guys go first, gotta tell Freddie something private."

"Coulda had that whole conversation in private," Brad stated with a roll of his eyes, grabbing Carly's coat off the rack and helping her put it on. "C'mon, babe." They walked out the door, leaving Sam staring at me.

"So what do you have to tell me?" I replied, and she just smirked at me.

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted see if you liked this," she said.

"Like what?"

"These," she replied, pulling her dress up and letting me get a peek at the black lace thong she was wearing. "Aren't they pretty?"

I glared at her. "You did not just do that to me."

She didn't respond, just walked toward me, leaning forward to lick over my neck, her hand coming down to my crotch and squeezing.

"I play to win," she said huskily in my ear, before biting my earlobe, and then pulling away. "Come on, baby. Let's go."

With that, she walked out the door, leaving me frustrated...and pissed off!

"Sam!" I yelled at her, grabbing my jacket before shutting the door to Carly's. "Your ass is going down!"


	80. Chapter 80: Love Me Do

**A/N: Alright, so just a word of warning, this chapter is uber-lemony.**

**Chapter Eighty:  
>Love Me Do<strong>

~*Sam*~

Freddie was really gonna make me work to win this bet tonight, I could feel it.

He'd pulled out every trick he could think of on me tonight, pulling me onto the dance floor the second we got there, grinding me against him, his hands holding my hips steady. But I was determined not to cave on this one. I was really enjoying being able to boss him around, knowing he'd have to do whatever I said, and I wasn't about to let go of that! The stakes on this bet were high, too high. If I lost, I'd have to do whatever HE said, for two entire months. Holy shit! Oh my god, his hand just squeezed my thigh, getting dangerously close to where I really wanted his hands to go. Must. Not. Cave.

I turned around to press against him, my arms going around his neck and licking a trail up his neck, making him groan. He just responded by pulling me against him tighter, and I gasped a little as his leg went between mine, grinding me down against him again. I tried to pull away a little bit, but he wasn't having it, he just kept one arm around my waist, his free hand going to my hip to move me against him. I couldn't help but moan, biting my bottom lip, and he grinned at me.

"Having a hard time, baby?" he said in my ear. "Something tells me I may have a little reversal in fortune tonight."

"No such luck, Benson," I growled, licking his neck and biting a bit. Oh my god, he smelled SO good. And he felt so good. He looked even better, in those dark jeans I loved, gray sweater, and black leather jacket. A little bit bad. And SO sexy. I hated to brag, but the two of us were a REALLY hot couple. Especially him. Oh man, why did I do this? I was going to lose! I had to regain control somehow! I grabbed the back of his head, kissing him passionately, feeling him moan against my mouth, and couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction a little...until I felt his tongue against mine, doing that flicking-twisting thing with it. Oh, great, now all I could think about was me, on my back, and him between my legs, doing his tongue trick somewhere else. God, this was going to kill me!

I pulled away, glaring at him. "That was so mean," I said, and he just smirked.

"Thought you played to win," he replied, giving me that look he always does right before he tears my clothes and has his way with me.

I was having trouble focusing. I wanted to yank him out to the car and throw him in the backseat and jump on top of him. But if I did that he would win! No! I tried to catch my breath. Maybe I should walk away for a second, go find Carly, calm myself down. I pulled Freddie's arms off me, turning to walk away, but he just grabbed my arm, yanking me back, my back against his chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled in my ear, locking an arm around my waist and grinding into me again.

Oh god, I was a dead woman.

~*Carly*~

I couldn't help but notice how handsy Brad was being tonight. I guess the dress had really done its trick, because we'd spent the entire night on the dance floor. It was so nice. I loved it. He kept kissing me, whispering in my ear how beautiful I was, telling me he loved me. Swoon. I could tell things were really gonna heat up once we got back to Bushwell, that is, if he didn't have to go running back to his place the minute we got there. I hoped not, I wanted to spend the rest of the night in his arms.

I looked over at Sam and Freddie and rolled my eyes. They weren't showing each other an ounce of mercy, desperately trying to get the other one to lose control. For once, I think Freddie was actually winning, because Sam tried to walk away and he just pulled her back. The look on her face said it all, she was doomed. I had to laugh. All that preparation Sam had went through to drive Freddie crazy, and he'd turned the tables on her.

I focused my attention back to my boyfriend. Brad looked so hot tonight, that gorgeous turquoise sweater and light blue jeans, hair perfect as always...he was just so perfect. And oh my gosh, my necklace! I loved it! I loved it almost as much as the locket he'd given me the day he asked me to be his girlfriend. He was so sweet, I didn't want to let him go. I loved him so much.

"You having a good time?" he said in my ear, and I nodded.

"Are you?"

"Yeah," he responded, but it didn't sound convincing.

"You're not still upset about the fight with your dad, are you?"

He shrugged. "It was a really bad fight, Carly."

"Wanna go talk about it? Away from the noise?"

Brad thought for a moment. "Sure. I'll go snag Freddie's keys." I watched him walk over to where Freddie and Sam were, rolling my eyes again. Now Freddie had his mouth attached to Sam's neck, and I could see that she was gripping his arms so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Brad tapped Freddie on the shoulder and said something in his ear, and Freddie didn't even respond, or stop kissing on Sam, just reached down and yanked his keys out of his pocket, handing them to Brad. Brad walked back over to me, shaking his head.

"Those two are gonna end up killing each other one of these days," he grunted, taking my hand. "Let's go."

We walked through the sea of people, getting our jackets from the coat check and heading outside, hopping into the backseat of Freddie's car. I turned in my seat, laying my head on Brad's chest.

"So talk."

"I pushed my dad, Carly," Brad said softly, and I looked at him in surprise.

"You did?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I don't know what I was thinking...he grabbed me, and I shoved him. Then we argued a bit more, and I just walked out."

I was quiet for a moment. "It's okay, baby."

"No, it isn't, Carly," Brad responded. "I pushed my FATHER. This isn't who I am. I don't know what's going on with me!"

"I do!" I replied, and he looked at me, confused. "You're frustrated, Brad! They treat you like shit!"

"I...I don't know, like...it's always been like this, I don't know what it's supposed to be like!"

"Well, not like this!" I replied. "You're their errand boy, babysitter, and then your dad just controls your life so you won't 'embarrass' the family, even though he's done nothing but embarrass you you entire life! Why do you put up with it?"

"Carly!" Brad stated, running his hands through his hair. "I can't turn my back on my family, okay? I just can't." He paused. "I try so hard though. I do good in school, stay out of trouble for the most part, unless I have to help Freddie kick someone's ass for whatever reason, I help out around the house, I take care of my brother and sisters...I go to mass with them every Sunday morning no matter how late I stay out, or how late I'm up trying to take care of Leah because they're at some stupid swinger party or locked away in their stupid room...I can't deal with it anymore! I feel like...I feel like I'm gonna flip out or something!"

"Then, Brad, just leave! You've only got a few months until you're eighteen! Just leave!"

"I CAN'T, Carly! Who's going to take care of Bryson and Leah and Heather? And...I can't just turn my back on my family, it's wrong! No matter how fucked up they are, it's still wrong!"

"Was it wrong for Sam to turn her back on her family?" I asked, and he shook his head fervently.

"That's different, her mom was hurting her."

"And your parents are hurting YOU!" I exclaimed, rubbing his shoulders. "Just in a different way. Baby, you can't keep dealing with this! And I'm sorry, but no matter what you do, you're never going to be the perfect son. No one's perfect. Even with you doing all the right things your dad is STILL demanding more from you. He wants you to just blindly follow orders without giving so much as a thought to who you are, or what you want! That's wrong, baby!"

"I know, Carly. I know," Brad responded with a sigh. "I just...I have to figure this out. I can't think about it anymore tonight."

"Then let me take your mind off it," I whispered in his ear, kissing his neck, smiling a little when I heard Brad groan.

"Carly..." he whined. "I don't have a condom."

"It's okay," I replied, my hand reaching down to unzip his jeans. "Just lay back. I'll take care of you."

He turned his head to look at me. "You're sure? We could get caught out here...and..."

"Shh," I responded, covering his mouth with my hand. "Just relax." He was still a little tense, but as soon as my hand went into his boxers and wrapped around him, he moaned, laying back on the seat. I unbuckled his belt before unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them down along with his boxers, before giving him a sexy smile and lowering my head.

~*Brad*~

God, Carly was good with her mouth. I couldn't stop moaning, trying desperately to keep my hands from going to her head and making due with gripping the seat as I tried to keep my hips still. My sweet girlfriend was trying desperately to keep my mind off the fight with my dad, and it was working.

"Damn, baby..." I groaned. "You're so good at this...shit..."

Carly didn't respond, just kept moving her mouth over me, hitting all these sensitive spots, making me arch my back. God, this felt amazing. I was having a hard time keeping it together, my breathing getting heavier, heart beating faster...

"Carly...slow down...I...fuck...Carly!" I warned her, but she didn't let up. My hand went to her shoulder, trying to push her off me, but she wasn't having it. I really didn't know how she'd react to me climaxing in her mouth, it'd never happened before, but she seemed determined to make it happen.

"Carly, please..." I groaned. She still didn't respond, just let one of her hands go under my shirt, rubbing lightly over my stomach, pushing me even closer to the edge. "Carly...I'm gonna..."

TAP TAP TAP.

What the hell was that? Carly gasped suddenly, sitting up, her eyes wide, and I looked up to see a security guard with a flashlight tapping on the window, looking pissed.

Oh, god! Really?

"GET OUT OF THE CAR!" he yelled.

I sat up, sighing, readjusting myself and zipping and buttoning my jeans.

"Oh my god!" Carly cried, her hands covering her face in embarrassment.

"NOW!"

"Come on, babe. Be cool," I told her gently, before reaching behind her and opening the door. She got out, and I stepped out behind her, glaring at the security guard and crossing my arms.

"Are you aware that's illegal? Sex in a public place?" he shouted, and Carly looked down at the ground, absolutely mortified.

"Okay, fine. But you're not a cop. You're a rent-a-cop," I responded glaring at him. Obviously he wasn't a cop, if he was, he'd know me. I knew all my dad's co-workers, and getting caught in the heat of the moment in the backseat of a car was probably the one thing I COULDN'T get in trouble for with my old man. He'd probably forget all about me shoving him and throw me a parade if he knew what I was up to.

The security guard glared at me, shaking his head. "I may not be a police officer, but I have the authority to banish you from the property. Do NOT come back to this club anymore. You need to leave, immediately."

"Oh my god, Brad!" Carly cried out. "This is so bad!"

"It's not that bad, babe. Let me text Freddie real quick." I turned to the security guard. "Gotta get our friends out of there, it's their car."

"Fine, but as soon as they do, you'd better leave, and not ever come back."

"Fine," I said with a shrug. "We'll be going to the club down the street in a few months anyway, the one with alcohol!"

"Whatever, just leave," the security guard grunted, before walking away.

"Yo dude, hope you didn't have your heart set on becoming a real cop!" I called. "You fucked with the wrong detective's son!"

"Brad!" Carly yelled, smacking me on the arm. "Stop!" She leaned against the car, sighing. "Oh my god, that's so embarrassing!"

"Carly, it's fine, babe."

"No it's not!" she replied. "And anyway, you didn't even get to finish!"

I had to laugh. "Aw, that's so considerate. But don't worry, we'll finish this up later, when we get back to your place. Right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she replied with a smile, biting her lip. Her face was still red from the humiliation of being caught going down on her boyfriend. It was cute, I couldn't help but lean forward to kiss her.

"You guess?" I replied in her ear, my hand going around her to give her ass a quick squeeze. I heard her sigh a little.

"You're right, I'm a sure thing," she said with a giggle.

"Good," I replied, before pulling my phone out of my pocket. "Now let me get Freddie and Sam out here." I began pounding out a text to Freddie, then Sam, just in case one of them didn't get the message.

"Brad?" Carly asked me.

"Yeah, babe?"

"You do realize something."

"What's that?"

Carly sighed, leaning back against the car again. "Freddie and Sam are NEVER going to let us hear the end of this."

Ugh, she was right. As much as we got onto those two about not being able to keep their hands off each other, and the fact that they'd managed to get it on in both the men's room AND the parking lot of Quisp on two separate occasions with getting caught...yeah, they were really going to have fun with this one.

About five minutes later, they both came out of the club, walking towards us.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you said it was some sort of an emergency?" Freddie added. "Dude, I was this close to breaking her!"

"Shut up, you were not!"

"Oh really?" He asked, his eyes dropping to her chest. "I mean, I know it's cold out here and all, but..."

"Shut up!" she yelled. "Okay, what happened?"

"We've been banned from Quisp," Carly stated, looking at the ground.

"What? Why?" Sam and Freddie said at the same time, before looking over at each other, amused.

"Um...well...see...Brad was in a bad mood, and so we came out here to talk, and..." Carly stumbled over her words, toying with her fingers nervously. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, I didn't know why Carly was so shy about this sort of thing when her two best friends practically started humping in front of us on a daily basis.

"We got busted by the security guard," I replied, ignoring the glare Carly gave me.

"Doing what?" Freddie asked. "Were you guys having sex in my car again? You still owe me the money for the last detail job!"

"Not exactly," Carly said weakly.

Sam gasped a little, before grinning. "Carly..." she reached out and poked her. "What were you doing to Brad?"

"Quit it!"

"Carlyyyyy..." Sam said, poking her again. "Was someone being a bad girl?"

"Shut up!" Carly cried, covering her face.

"Were you giving Brad a blowjob?" Sam stated bluntly, and Carly let out a squeak, turning to me and burying her face in my chest. I laughed, my hand going to her back.

"Babe, don't be self-conscious!"

"So...what happened?" Freddie asked.

"Carly gave Brad a blowjob!" Sam said excitedly.

"SAM!" Carly yelled. "Will you stop it?"

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Blowjob, got it. What happened next?"

"Uh, we kinda got busted by a security guard," I replied. "And were subsequently banned."

Sam and Freddie didn't say anything, just looked at each other, before bursting into laughter.

"It's not funny!" Carly cried, turning red again.

"You're right, it's not funny...it's hilarious!" Sam said, still laughing. "Do you much action Freddie and I have gotten in this club and NEVER been busted? You guys are amateurs, man!"

"Alright, whatever, I got interrupted, I'd like to finish what got started."

"Yeah, me too," Freddie responded, his eyes sliding over to Sam, who just glared at him. "Thanks for not getting stuff all over my backseat, dude!"

"Oh like you've never gotten stuff all over your backseat before?" I asked pointedly.

"It's my backseat!" Freddie responded. "Anyway, you're driving." He tossed his keys at me.

"What? Why?"

"Got some business to handle," Freddie replied.

"No way, man. I am not driving the sex-mobile so you two can show us up!"

"Brad!" Sam chided me. "We would never try to show you guys up! That would be almost unfair. Like an Olympic runner racing a kindergartener."

I rolled my eyes. "Guess you have a point, you are dressed like you do it for a living."

"Shut up!" she yelled, thumping me in the chest.

"Alright, enough!" Freddie stated. "It's cold out here, if you guys have been banned, we better get the hell out of her. Brad, drive. I am NOT losing this bet."

"Maybe I should drive," Sam commented, and Freddie shook his head slowly, before opening the back door, grabbing Sam's arm and giving her a slight shove into the backseat.

"Get your sexy ass in that car, I'm not done with you yet," he growled.

I rolled my eyes, opening the passenger door for Carly. "Get in, babe."

"I don't want to...they're gonna be doing icky things back there."

"You were just in his backseat," Sam stated, "With your mouth on your boyfriend's...Freddie!" she yelled, slapping his arm. "You can't do that! That's not fair!"

"We never called boundaries!" he replied. I had no idea what Freddie had just done, but it sounded either really good, or really bad, and either way, I didn't really care to know.

"Ugh," I said. "Carly, get in. You guys chill out!"

~*Freddie*~

I was going to win this damn bet if it killed me. And right now, it sure felt like it was killing me. I was so fired up I couldn't stand it, after spending the last two hours trying to rile Sam up. It was so hard not to give up, but I knew if I just kept it up, she'd cave. The girl's outfit was designed to rile me up, but she'd failed to realize that leaving all that skin exposed just made it even easier for me to rile HER up. I'd gotten a lot of enjoyment out of rubbing all over her and grinding against her in that club, and part of me was actually glad Carly and Brad had managed to get themselves kicked out, because now that we were away from other people, I could really step my game up. Sam's ass was going DOWN.

She kept trying to scoot further away from me in the car, edging closer and closer to the door, but I just grabbed her around her waist and pulled her back toward me. She glared at me, before reaching down to my crotch and giving me squeeze. I gasped, glaring right back at her.

"Brat," I stated, my hand trailing up her inner thigh. "You're fucked now."

"Freddie," she whined, trying to push my hand away, but I just grabbed her hand and held it still, using my other hand to go right up her dress, my fingers moving over the lace of her tiny thong. It didn't cover much, and I was going to take full advantage of that. I had my arm wrapped around her in a way that she couldn't move away.

Brad and Carly had gotten annoyed before Brad even started the car, and turned the radio up loud so they couldn't hear us. Fine by me, now I could say all kinds of dirty things in Sam's ear without getting yelled at.

"Still holding out?" I asked, my mouth inches away from her ear, breath on her neck.

She didn't respond, just grabbed the back of my head and kissed me, biting my bottom lip roughly, before pulling away and glaring at me.

"Does that answer your question?"

"I was hoping you'd do that," I said with a smirk, grabbing her knee and pulling her legs open again, before running my hands up and down her inner thighs. I put my mouth back next to her ear.

"I'm gonna do so many bad things to you when we get home," I growled. "I'm gonna rip that dress off and then pull your panties off with my teeth, and then I'm gonna slide my tongue over you...over and over, until you beg me to stop..."

She was starting to breathe heavily; she LOVED when I talked dirty to her.

"Can you picture it, Sam?" I asked, my hand coming closer and closer to my target. "Your legs over my shoulders...you laying back, your back arching...moaning. Moaning so loud. You'll beg me to stop, but I won't stop...I'm gonna keep going."

"Freddie," she said weakly, and I could tell her resolve was caving. Excellent, I almost had her exactly where I wanted her, and we hadn't even gotten home yet. I was really gonna step the game up when we got to our room, and I was gonna step it up bad!

"Shit," I hissed, when she suddenly leaned forward, yanking my collar aside and biting my shoulder.

"You think you were getting somewhere with that? Huh?" she asked, her hand going to my crotch again. "I can play the game just as well as you. Maybe better."

"Bullshit," I replied. "You played your best card already."

"And what was that?"

"The boots."

She laughed. "Oh, baby. You think that was the best card? That was an Ace, still got a Joker left, honey."

I was too busy picturing whatever else she had up her sleeve, I didn't even notice we were back at Bushwell, until Brad stopped the car.

"Alright, out horndogs," Brad stated to us, tossing me the keys.

I opened my door to get out, but Sam's hand went to my arm.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she responded. I felt her hand go into my pocket, and I looked at her, confused.

"What'd you just do?"

"Nothing. Left you a little present." With that, she got out of the car, linking arms with Carly and rushing into the lobby.

I reached into my pocket and my eyes widened. Wow, okay, she did have a better card to play. When I wasn't looking, she'd pulled her thong off, and she'd just stuffed it into my pocket.

"Is that what I think it is?" Brad asked with a shocked expression.

"Oh, she's dead now!" I yelled, picking up my pace. "Sam! I'm calling foul on that one! Get your ass back here!"

"God, you guys are really into this whole game, aren't you?" Brad asked as he tried to keep up with me.

"You have no idea. I want to win this one, and I wanna win it bad."

Brad just shook his head, laughing. "Whatever, I'll settle for backseat blowjobs, they suit me just fine."

"Backseat everything suits you just fine," I replied. "I know how often you and Carly go to the lake to 'talk'. How much talking really goes on there?"

"We talk a lot!" Brad stated defensively. "I mean, let's see, there's 'Oh, Brad!' and 'Oh my god, Brad!' and 'Oh, yes yes yes!' See, lots of talking!"

"Whatever, dude. Did they go up the elevator already?" I asked, looking around the lobby.

"I think so. Dammit, I hate playing hard to get!"

"Stairs?"

"Yup," Brad responded.

"Dude, you got two minutes to get Carly's presents out, and after that you'll just be out of luck," I told him as we ran upstairs.

"Okay, fine. I'll do that first," he replied.

My phone beeped at me; I pulled it out of my pocket to find a picture message from Sam.

"Shit!" I hollered, almost dropping the phone. Sam was already in our apartment, on the bed, and she'd lost the dress but kept the boots on. Nothing but the boots. Oh god, I might not survive this one after all.

"What?"

"Stakes just got raised," I said with a sigh. "Hurry up."

We finally reached my apartment, and the door was unlocked. I guess Sam had rushed in to get her dress off and send me that photo. Man, she could be so damn naughty. I loved it, and it was really on now.

"Hurry up," I growled at Brad as he went to open the closet door.

"Baby, you better hurry!" Sam yelled from our room. "I've started without you!"

"I'll win the bet in a minute! Brad's getting Carly's gifts! Keep your ass on that bed and don't move or you're gonna get it really bad!" I yelled.

"Dude, come on!" Brad said with a roll of his eyes as he grabbed the rest of Carly's stuff.

"Make me!" Sam yelled back in a sing-song voice. "You better get him out of here! I feel like I'm starting to lose the mood!"

"Hurry up!" I said to Brad again, shooting him a Look.

"I'm done! You guys have fun!" he replied. I held the door open for him, and he walked out. "See you in a few days, man. If you're still alive, that is!"

"Yeah," I replied. "Take it easy, don't let the man get you down."

"Viva la revolucion!" he shouted with a raise of him arm, before walking across the hall to Carly's apartment.

"Brad, wait!" I yelled.

He turned around to look at me, and I went to the closet, grabbing a box and tossing it to him.

"Merry Christmas, fucker!"

He laughed. "Thanks, you and Sam's stuff is with Carly."

"Got it. See ya later."

"Peace out!"

I gave him a grin, before shutting the door, taking my jacket off along with my sweater. I knew it drove Sam crazy when I didn't have my shirt on, so I had to catch her off-guard from go. I kicked my shoes off, before heading back to our room. The door wasn't shut all the way, it was open just a little bit, and I pushed it open a little more.

"Ready to lose, baby?" I asked as I walked in, frowning when I realized she wasn't on the bed. "Sam? Where the hell are you? I told you to stay on that bed!"

"Right here," I heard her say from behind me into my ear, before pressing up against my back, reaching around me to grab my crotch. I moaned from the feeling of her bare skin pressed against mine, before regaining my bearings and turning around to face her.

Bad move, Freddie. I wanted to fall over when I saw her standing there in nothing but those thigh high boots. God, she looked so hot. I had to use every bit of strength I had in me, or I was going to lose that one.

"You're playing dirty, baby." I said with a shake of my head, and she laughed a little.

"So? I told you, mama plays to win."

"Then you'll be awful disappointed tonight," I replied, before grabbing her waist and yanking her to me, immediately kissing up and down her neck, my hand reaching down to grab her ass. She gasped a little, arching into me, before shoving me backwards onto the bed and straddling me.

"You are so gonna lose," she quipped, leaning down to nibble on my ear and grinding down on me. I grabbed the back of her head, kissing her passionately and flipping us over.

"Am I?" I growled before lowering my head to her breasts, licking and sucking, pinning her arms over her head. She squirmed, trying to get free, but I wouldn't let her.

"Freddie!" she gasped, arching her back, wiggling a little. I pinned her wrists down with one hand, the other going down between her legs to rub at her.

"Hmm," I commented, lifting my head to glare at her. "You're already so turned on. I can tell."

"So are you," she replied. "I can tell."

"Who do you think is more turned on?" I stated, sliding a finger into her and moving in and out quickly, making her moan.

"Aaah!" she cried, trying to squirm free again. "You fucker! Let me go!"

"Nope," I replied. "Not until you cave."

"At least take your pants off, make it fair," she begged.

I shrugged. Alright, maybe I'd throw the girl a bone. I sat up on my knees, letting her go, smirking as her hands went to my belt buckle, frantically undoing it before doing the same to the button and zipper on my jeans, pushing them down over my hips.

"You just wanted me naked," I stated, standing up to pull my jeans and boxers off before coming over top of her again, kissing her.

"Yeah, I did," she replied, before flipping me over. "Now we're even. And now you're fucked."

She grabbed my member, squeezing roughly, bending down to bite my shoulder, and I hissed in pain/pleasure, my hand going to the back of her head, the other grabbing her ass. Oh god, I fucking loved when she did that, but I HAD to hold out. Must. Not. Let. Sam. Win. I rolled us over so I was on top again, grinding against her, my mouth going back to her breasts.

"Oh, god!" she moaned. She tried to move her hips a little bit, and I knew what she was doing. She was trying to angle herself so I'd slide into her, but no, not happening. I moved away, laying down next to her, before throwing a leg over her hips, pinning her down, my hand going to rub at her while I continued to toy with her breasts.

"No, not this again," she moaned, trying to break free.

"Yes, this again. You're gonna lose this one," I responded, going back to driving her up the wall.

"Aaah...Freddie!" she moaned as I started working two fingers in and out of her, continuing to move my tongue over her sensitive breasts, before going up to her collarbone, licking, sucking, biting. She arched her back, panting.

"Oh god...this feels so good...fuck...aaahhh..."

"You give up?" I growled against her skin, and she shook her head.

"No!"

I shrugged. "Fine." With that, I moved down her body, throwing her legs over my shoulders, still encased in those sexy boots, and began licking over her, groaning a little when I felt her nails dig into my shoulders.

"Aaah!" she cried out. "Oh god!" She alternated between laying there, enjoying my mouth on her, and trying to squirm away. Good, that meant she had a battle of wills going on in her head. She didn't want to lose the bet, but she didn't want me to stop either.

She finally scooted back, away from me, and I grabbed her hips, yanking her back.

"Not so fast," I growled, going back to licking over her sensitive womanhood. I lifted my head up for a second to smirk at her. "You're either gonna beg me, or you're gonna come, and either way, I win." I lowered my head back down, and she started moaning again, trying in vain to move away.

"Stop...oh god...this isn't fair..." she moaned. "You're playing dirty...oh fuck...oh god that feels so good..." She started to shake a little, tossing her head back and forth, her hands gripping the sheets, and I couldn't help but feel a little victorious. She was almost there. I'd almost won.

I almost wanted to stop and try to make her beg, but that was a dangerous move, she could easily get away then and then it was anybody's guess what she'd do to me. But man, I loved hearing her beg. But I also loved winning. What to do?

"Freddie...oh god...Freddie...aaahhh...fuck..." she moaned, and I realized she'd stopped squirming and trying to get away. She was just laying there, taking it. Her body had overpowered her brain. Okay, you can do this. You've almost got this in the bag.

I slid two fingers inside her, pressing against her g-spot, licking the same spot over and over, enjoying her pant and moan, feeling her walls clench around my fingers, and her thighs start to shake.

"Dammit...dammit...dammit..." she moaned. She knew she was about to lose too, she was desperately trying to hang on. Sorry, baby, no such luck tonight.

I picked up the pace with my fingers and tongue, getting her closer and closer.

"Aaaah! Freddie...oh fuck...oh god...I...I'm...aaah...fuck!" she moaned, and then, just to seal the deal, I did that thing with my tongue she loved, where I flicked it and twisted it at the same time, and I felt her hands grab my hair as she lifted her hips up, trembling.

"Aaaah! Yes! Oh goddddd! Aaaaahhhh baby...Freddieeeee!" I grinned victoriously as I felt her body clench up and then start shaking uncontrollably. Before she even finished, I got up, coming over her and thrusting into her.

"I win," I growled in her ear, my arm going underneath her and around her shoulders to pull her closer to me, the other hand grabbing her leg. Damn, finally! I hadn't beat her in one of our games in awhile, it was about damn time.

"Ugh, damn you!" she cried, before arching her back and moaning again. "Oh god...baby...you feel so good..."

"Winning feels good," I murmured, before kissing her neck.

"Shut up!" she hissed, biting my shoulder. "You won, now just hurry up and make love to me."

"You ordering me around?" I teased. "Because you can't do that anymore."

"Baby, please," she moaned. "Please...I'm begging you...make love to me...please..."

"You're begging me?" I asked, looking at her with a raise of my eyebrows, and she nodded.

"Please..."

"How can I say no to that?" I replied, kissing her. "I love you, my sweet sweet baby."

"I love you," she gasped, gripping my shoulders. "Oh, baby...you feel amazing..."

"You do too," I groaned, burying my face in her neck as I continued to move in and out of her, all thoughts of the bet gone. She moved against me, panting, moaning, still shaking a little, kissing my neck and shoulders repeatedly. I lifted my head to capture her mouth in a passionate kiss, and she groaned against my lips.

"Getting close again?" I asked her, kissing her once more, and she nodded.

"Oh, god..." she moaned. "Baby...Freddie...oh god..."

"Yeah, come on baby," I encouraged her. "That's it...come for me..."

"Aaaah!" she moaned, exploding again. "Freddie! Ohhhh...god...oh yes...fuck! Aaaah!"

"Shit, Sam..." I groaned, feeling my own orgasm approaching. "Baby...I..."

"Yeah, it's okay...I'm good...come on..." she moaned, wrapping her legs around me.

"Sam...baby...aah...Sam...SAM!" I yelled, my face going back against her neck and quaking against her, moaning as I felt her nails go up and down my back lightly. I laid against her, trying to catch my breath, before rolling off and laying down next to her, tossing my arm over my face and trying to regain my bearings.

"Shit," I breathed. "That was so good."

Sam sat up to unzip and pull her boots off, before laying down next to me, her head on my chest, and my hand instantly went to her hair, stroking it and wrapping it around my fingers, lifting my head to kiss her on her forehead.

"I love you," she said softly, kissing my chest.

"I love you too," I replied.

We both laid there for a few moments, not speaking, and then I cleared my throat.

"What?" she asked, lifting her head to look at me.

"I totally just stomped your ass," I said with a grin, and she rolled her eyes, smirking a little.

"Yeah, you did," she replied. "It's about time you actually beat me."

"Well, the stakes were higher on this one baby, wouldn't you say?" She didn't respond, just scowled at me. "You got five minutes to rest, and then I want you to rub my back."

"Ugh, fine. I guess you're the boss now," she stated.

"Don't forget it," I replied. "By the way, you know you love it."

She smiled, biting her bottom lip. "Yeah, I guess I do." She sat up suddenly, trying to get off the bed, when I grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Getting dressed," she replied.

"Nope. Sorry."

"What?"

"No clothes for you for the rest of the night."

"But..."

"You heard me," I said with a smirk. "I won the bet, now I want a backrub, and I want you naked, for the rest of the night. Problems?"

"No," she replied. "Roll over."

I rolled over onto my stomach, groaning when I felt her rub my shoulders.

"I think I'm gonna like being the boss," I said, laughing when I heard her groan.


	81. Chap 81: Christmas Time Is Here Again

**A/N: Last chapter of the night, will try to get another one up tomorrow. This one is for the hardcore romantics, but also a little bit of drama just to shake things up!**

**Chapter Eighty One:  
><strong>**Christmas Time (Is Here Again)**

~*Brad*~

"Carly," I said, shaking her lightly. "Wake up, baby. I gotta go."

She stirred a little, nuzzling her face into my chest, arm still wrapped around me. "I don't want you to go."

"I have to, babe," I said, feeling bad that I had to leave.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"It's almost six," I replied.

She sat up, yawning, pulling the sheet up to cover herself and pushing her hair out of her face, looking at me as I got out of her bed and pulled my clothes on.

"You can stay," she said, and I just looked at her, shaking my head.

"You know I can't, honey. I'm sorry."

We'd spent an amazing night together, making love three times and spent the rest of the night in each other's arms. I hadn't been this happy in awhile, despite the class-A ass-kicking I knew was coming from my dad the minute I got home. I didn't want to leave her, not for a second, and certainly not for three days. Freddie and Carly's comments about my parents were starting to make sense, but I was really trying to resist. It just kept eating at me, I didn't know what to do.

"Did you like your presents?" Carly asked me, and I nodded, bending down to kiss her.

"I loved them. That's gotta be the most bad ass camera ever...but I think you paid too much for it."

Carly shrugged. "You're worth it. I thought you'd like it, so..." she trailed off, shrugging again.

"Well, I love it. Thank you," I replied.

"What about the sweaters? And I got you enough PearTunes giftcards to restock your entire music library."

"I know, and I love it," I responded, kissing her again. "I love you."

"I wish you didn't have to go," she said with a sigh.

"I'll be back in three days, I promise," I replied. "I'll text and call whenever I can."

"Okay," she said, looking down, a sad expression on her face. I sat back down next to her on the bed.

"Please don't be sad, babe."

"I guess I have to get used to being away from you," she sighed. Ouch, that stung.

"Babe, come on. You're making me feel bad."

"Sorry," she replied, lifting her head to kiss me. "Be careful, okay? Try not to smash out any car windows this time?"

"I'll do my best," I replied with a grin.

"You want me to walk you out?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Nah, go back to sleep, babe."

"Okay," she replied with a yawn, laying back down. "Hey!" she exclaimed, when I pulled the covers off her.

"Just wanted one more look, sorry," I replied with a grin, before tucking the blankets back around her. "I love you, Carly." I bent down to kiss her, and felt her arms go around my neck as she kissed me back passionately.

"I love you so much, Brad. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you more, babe. Now get some sleep."

"Bye," she called softly as I walked out of her bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I'd decided to leave the gifts behind. True, my dad had never hit me, but he did seem to enjoy breaking stuff I loved...like my last two cameras. I left Carly's apartment, taking the elevator down to my floor and sticking the key in the lock, before the door jerked open, revealing my very pissed off father.

"Get your ass in this house!" he yelled, grabbing me by the back of the neck and yanking me into the apartment. I was so caught off-guard I didn't have the chance to stop myself from tumbling to the floor.

"Did you think you were being a man last night when you pulled that shit?" my dad growled as I gained my feet. "Answer me!"

"Don't try to intimidate me, Dad. I'm not mom," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest.

Maybe it was because I was still a little sleepy, or maybe it was because he'd never done it before, but I was totally unprepared for the hit to the face my Dad gave me, swinging forward hard and hitting me right in the jaw. I took a few steps back, but I didn't fall. I lifted my hand to my mouth before looking at it, shocked when I saw the blood on my fingers, looking back up at him.

"When I tell you to do something, you do it," my dad growled. "Now get your ass in your room and wake up your brother. Neither one of you finished packing."

I didn't respond, just turned and walked to my room, slamming the door shut behind me and falling back on my bed in utter shock.

Seventeen years of my life, and it had never happened before, but my dad had just HIT me. What do I do? I couldn't leave. I couldn't run away. My dad was a cop, he'd track my ass out. Going to stay with Carly was out of the question, I didn't want to pull her into all of this.

I sighed, rubbing my sore jaw, looking over at my brother's sleeping form. Was he going to have to put up with this when he got to be my age? What about Heather? Even baby Leah?

No, I definitely couldn't leave. I couldn't even give up going to the academy, he'd just end up taking it out on my brother and sisters. There was no point in rebelling against my dad. I just had to deal with it, for as long as possible.

For my siblings sake, and for mine.

~*Sam*~

"Remind me why we waited two days before Christmas to do this?" I asked with my arms crossed over my chest as I stood in the middle of the Christmas tree lot, looking around worriedly.

"Because we couldn't pry ourselves off each other long enough to get it done," Freddie responded with a kiss on my neck.

"True," I replied with a shrug. "Okay, so how does this work, exactly?"

"You pick a tree, pay for it, tie it on your car, take it home. Bam, done."

"I don't even see the point," I gruffed. "Putting a dead tree in the middle of our living room and decorating it with highly breakable glass balls seems kind of superfluous to me."

Freddie's arms went around me, pulling me to him. "That's because you've never had a Christmas tree before, baby."

"I did too! Remember, two years ago? You and Carly stopped by to get those props?"

"Sam! That was a cactus!" Freddie exclaimed.

"It was a Southwestern Christmas tree," I replied indignantly, turning my head when he tried to kiss me.

"Come on, baby. Kiss me."

"No," I said, pouting.

"Baby."

"No. You hurt my feelings."

"Aw, I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't mean to," he replied, kissing me on the cheek, then the side of my mouth, then on my lips when I'd finally conceded and turned my head to face him.

"You've never called me that before," I commented. "I like it."

"What, sweetheart?"

"Mmhmm."

"Then I'll just have to say it more often, sweetheart," he said with a grin, kissing me on the end of my nose. "Ooh, we'd better hurry up, your nose is cold."

"So are you ears," I replied, nibbling on his earlobe. "I told you to wear a hat."

"Yeah, I forgot," he replied. "So do you like 'sweetheart' better than 'my sweet sweet baby'?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head fervently. "I love it when you call me your sweet sweet baby. The first time you said that to me was on our wedding night."

"Yeah," he replied, giving me a smile. "And you've been my sweet sweet baby ever since. Well, most of the time. Sometimes you're a brat."

"Ah!" I said, pretending to be offended. "Okay, well sometimes you're a nub!"

"True," he replied with a shrug. "Okay, which one do you want?"

"I dunno," I replied. "They all look the same to me."

"Well, we shouldn't get a super big one, not this year. We'll save that for when we have a couple of crazy kids running around."

I had to smile at that. It would be a long time before that happened, but the idea was nice.

"How about that one?" I pointed at it, and Freddie eyed it critically.

"Okay," he finally said. "Looks good to me. Go stand by it, I'm gonna go get the salesperson."

"Alright," I replied, smiling when he gave me a kiss on my forehead before walking away.

I'd told Freddie we shouldn't go through all the trouble of getting a Christmas tree, but when he found out I'd never had one before, he seemed determined to get one, whether I wanted to or not. And not a fake one, he'd said, it had to be real. I sighed. He was so sweet, going through all this trouble just for me.

I'd kind of expected him to be a dick over this whole bet issue, but it hadn't come up that much so far, other than when he wanted me to rub his neck. And two or three times he'd ordered me to kiss him "like I meant it", which didn't bother me one bit, I thought it was kind of cute. I loved that boy so much, it was crazy. I didn't want to be spending Christmas with anyone else. I frowned suddenly.

That reminded me, where the hell was Melanie? I hadn't seen my sister since we'd gone shopping together We still texted every day, but I hadn't texted her today. I decided to go ahead and do that, just to see what she was up to.

'Yo. Where you at, sis?'

She texted me back immediately.

Mel: With Carrie. What R U up 2?

'Freddie and I are picking out a Christmas tree. He found out we'd never had one before and freaked.'

Mel: Cute. Carrie's rents R going out of town. She convinced them to let her stay here. Rich ppl don't give a shit about their kids, u know that?

'I guess. April's rents seem 2 care bout her. So u shackin' up with Carrie now?'

Mel: Most days. Her rents don't really notice. Sometimes I stay with Megan.

'Is Megan on your team?'

Mel: Nope, just my squad. Pity, I'd hit that. What R ur plans for xmas day?

'Probably hang out with Carly and of course be with Freddie. Stop by xmas day?"

Mel: K. Can I bring Carrie?

'Sure. Ttyl. ILU.'

'L8r. ILU2.'

"Who ya texting?" Freddie asked me as he walked back over with a salesman.

"Mel," I replied.

"Cool. Will she be gracing us with her presence?"

"Probably Christmas day," I replied. "That okay?"

"Sure," he replied, before turning to the salesman. "This one right here," he said, gesturing to the tree I was standing next to.

Twenty minutes later, we'd managed to tie the tree to the roof and Freddie's car and head back to Bushwell.

"You know Lewbert's gonna have a shit-fit if we drag this through the lobby," Freddie commented as he helped me onto the car so I could cut the ties.

"Really?" I asked brightly. "Why didn't you say something earlier? We could have pissed him off days ago!"

"Well, good things come to those who wait," he said with a laugh. "This thing is gonna leave a steady trail of pine needles all across the floor."

"Awesome," I stated, cutting strings and rolling the tree off the car. "Incoming!"

"Aah!" Freddie yelled as the tree fell on him, knocking him over.

"Baby?" I asked nervously, peering over the car at him. "Are you okay?"

"You're supposed to say timber," he grunted, standing up and brushing himself off, before holding his arms out. "Okay, hop down."

"Don't drop me," I warned him, and he rolled his eyes.

"I caught you when you fell twenty feet, Sam! I think I can handle a four foot drop. Now get your butt down here before you scratch the roof of my car!"

"Fine," I replied with an eyeroll of my own, before jumping on top of him. "Timber!"

~*Freddie*~

"Are you done yet?" Sam yelled at me from our bedroom.

"No! Give me one more minute, baby!"

"Freddieeeeee!" she whined. "I'm bored!"

"I'm almost done, keep your shirt on!" I yelled, frowning suddenly. "On second thought, forget that last part!"

It broke my heart that my Sam wasn't used to all of this stuff. She'd grown up dirt poor, with a neglectful mother, not accustomed to Christmas trees, Santa Claus, any of that stuff little girls were supposed to experience during the holidays, and I was determined to make sure that never happened again. She didn't know it, but I had some pretty cool stuff planned for her over the next few days, stuff that didn't involve us having sex, though of course there'd be lots and lots of that. I loved Sam, for a lot more than just the physical aspect of our relationship, and I wanted her to have the best Christmas possible. I walked around the tree, eyeing it one last time to make sure it looked perfect, before walking over to the wall and turning off the lights, then walking into our bedroom, opening the door.

"Is it done?" she asked.

"Mmhmm," I replied, grabbing her hands and pulling her to her feet. I walked behind her, putting my hands over her eyes. "Start walking."

"Ugh, really?" she replied, and I rolled my eyes.

"What'd I tell you about questioning me?" I asked, kissing her neck. "Now start walking."

She walked into the living room with me behind her, my hands over her eyes the whole time.

"Ready?" I asked in a low voice, my mouth next to her ear, and she nodded. "Okay. Merry Christmas, baby," I said, taking my hands off her face, so she could finally see the Christmas tree I'd spent over an hour decorating, the only light in the room coming off the multi-colored lights on the tree, magnified by the reflections off the glass balls Sam had made fun of at the tree lot.

She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "Oh my god, baby!" she exclaimed, leaning back into me. "It's so pretty!"

"Did I do a good job?"

"It's perfect!" she gushed. "Oh my god!" She turned around, her arms going around my neck and hugging me tightly. "Thank you, baby," she said softly, her face pressed against my neck. My arms went around her waist, pulling her closer to me and kissing her neck.

"Baby?" I said as I realized my neck was wet. "Are you crying?"

"No," she sniffled. "I...no."

"Baby," I said softly, rubbing her back. "It's okay."

She nodded, her head resting on my shoulder. "I love you. This is the sweetest thing..."

"I wanted you to have a Christmas tree," I replied. "I thought it was important. Every girl deserves one, I'm just sorry you had to wait so long."

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter anymore."

"You're right, it doesn't. All that stuff's behind you now. You have one now."

"I have you now," she said quietly. "That's all I really need."

"Well then, consider the tree a bonus," I replied with a smirk. "Now come here, there's something else I want to show you." My hand went to her chin, lifting her head to look at me, before wiping the tears off her face and kissing the spots where they had been.

"What else is there?" she asked. I took her hand and led her over towards the tree.

"Know what these are?" I asked, plucking two ornaments off the tree.

"Birds," she replied. "Why do you have birds on the tree."

"They're not just birds, baby. They're turtle doves. It's kind of like a Christmas tradition, one of those lesser known ones, but yeah. Turtle doves are supposed to be symbols of love. So you take one turtle dove and keep it for yourself, and the other one, you give to the person you love." I grabbed her hand, opening it up and holding it, before placing one of the porcelain turtle dove ornaments in her hand. "This one's for you. The other one's mine."

"Aww..." she said, before frowning. "You're gonna make me start crying again."

"It's okay, baby," I said with a laugh, kissing her on her head. "Put it back on the tree, anywhere you want."

"Okay," she said softly. She looked at me for a second, before grabbing the turtle dove I was holding and putting both of them on the tree, so close they were touching.

"They don't like to be away from each other," she explained. "Like us."

I smiled a bit, biting my bottom lip. "Come here, baby." I kissed her softly.

"Maybe I'll start liking Christmas," she said, looking up at me.

"I hope so," I replied. "There's one more thing I gotta show you."

"Okay," she replied.

"We don't have a fireplace, which sucks, but oh well, so I just hung them under the window, but know what these are?"

"They're big socks," Sam stated flatly.

"Sam! Seriously?" I asked in shock, and she laughed, shaking her head.

"No. I'm not that oblivious. They're stockings."

"Yep," I replied. "So this one's my mom's, this one is mine." I reached for it, holding it up so she could see it. It was navy blue with white fur trim, but it was tattered and most of the fur had rubbed off. "I've had it since I was a baby."

"Aw, it has your name on it," Sam said. "It's cute."

"Thanks," I replied, hanging it back up, before grabbing the purple one hanging right next to it. "And this one is for you."

"Awww!" Sam cried, snatching it out of my hand and staring at it. "It's so pretty...and you got my name embroidered on it."

"Your full name, Samantha Benson."

Sam hugged me again, even tighter than before. "I love you," she whispered in my ear, her voice choked like she was crying again. "Thank you, baby. For all of this."

"I told you, I wanted you to have a good Christmas. A perfect Christmas."

"It will be perfect, even without all of this, because it's with you. It's our first Christmas together."

"Yep," I replied, kissing her. "But not our last."

"No," she agreed, before hanging her stocking back up. "What's that one?" she pointed to the hunter green one in the corner, and I frowned.

"That's my dad's," I said softly. "Mom thinks it's stupid, but I still hang it up every year, I don't know why." I shrugged a little bit.

"Baby," she said, kissing me, her arms going around me. "It's not stupid. It's sweet. Like you."

"I wish he could've met you," I commented. "He would've liked you."

"You think so?"

"Mmhmm. My dad was a pretty feisty guy himself." I'd never really talked much about my dad, not even to Sam. It was a topic I didn't like bringing up very much.

"Freddie?"

"Yeah?"

"How old were you? When your father passed away?"

"Eight," I replied softly, pulling her to the couch with me and sitting down, taking her hand in mine.

"How?"

"Car accident."

Sam was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, baby."

"Yeah," I replied, looking up at the ceiling. "Not as sorry as I am. It was my fault."

"What?" she asked in surprise. "Freddie! You know that's not true! It can't be!"

"He was late," I replied. "He was late for one of my dumb Science fairs. So he was speeding, and..." I trailed off, dropping Sam's hand. "I don't really want to talk about this, Sam. I'm sorry."

"I think you need to," she replied, taking my hand back.

I shook my head fervently. "I can't."

"Freddie," she said in a firm voice, causing me to look at her. "You've been there with me for all my bad shit. Let me be there for you. Have you EVER talked about this, with anyone?"

"No," I sighed. "I haven't."

Sam stared at me for a second, before crawling into my lap, her legs stretched out across the couch, arms around my neck, laying her head on my shoulder. "You need to get this out."

"He worked for IBM, and he was trying to get a promotion, so he'd been working a lot of hours. And I had this really big Science fair, and I wanted him to go, but he said he couldn't, because you know, meetings." I sighed, taking a deep breath. "I was so mad at him. I didn't understand..."

"You were just a little boy," Sam said, and I shook my head.

"I was a little brat," I responded. "I was so mad, I told him I hated him. I told him..." I trailed off, trying to steady myself. "I told him I wished he wasn't my dad."

"It's okay, baby."

I shook my head. "It's not. He'd decided to go anyway. Skip the meeting. And he got in the wreck."

"It wasn't your fault."

"But it was, Sam," I said, trying to blink back tears. "He got hit by a transfer truck. He was pinned to the car for four hours. It took that long to get through all the twisted steel and everything...he was alive the entire time, and then he died, on the way to the hospital. Massive internal bleeding."

"Oh, Freddie..." Sam said, kissing my neck. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry. It's okay, baby."

"I never got to see him again," I said with a sigh. "And it really messed with me. I tried to get over it, but I couldn't. I started pushing everyone away, became a target at school, got picked on all the time. For four years. And then my mom just got tired of it. She just wanted to start over. She wanted me to start over."

"So that's why you moved here to Seattle," Sam said, and I nodded.

"And I still became a target anyway, got picked on all the time, never fought back. Til I met this crazy little blonde girl who drove me absolutely nuts. I fought back with that one. Of course, that only made her fight harder. She kicked my ass a few times!"

"She sounds adorable," Sam said with a grin.

"Oh, she was. Adorably insane. But still, pretty adorable. But then she got hot. And then I fell in love with her."

"Anyone I know?" Sam asked, and I smirked, before kissing her.

"I think you do," I replied. "She's sitting on my lap right now."

Sam gasped, pretending to be shocked. "That's me!"

"Oh my god, it IS you!" I replied in an equally shocked tone of voice, before growing serious again. "I love you, baby. Thanks for making me talk about that, I never have before."

"It's not healthy to keep stuff inside, baby. You know you can tell me anything, and I'm here for you."

"Anything?"

"Anything," she replied with a fervent nod.

"Okay, well there is something," I replied with a frown. "But I dunno if I should say it."

"What?" Sam asked, looking confused and a little bit worried. "Tell me!"

"Alright. Don't be mad, okay?"

"Freddie! Just tell me!"

"Fine," I said with a sigh, staring at her. "I am absolutely, positively, 100% without a doubt desperately in love with you, and I will be until my dying days."

She smiled, kissing me. "That makes two of us."

~*Carly*~

"Why do I have to wear a floor length gown?" I whined to Spencer and April as I swung my legs back and forth as I sat at the bar, grumbling to myself.

"Because it's a formal event!" April replied. "My parents have it every year, two days before Christmas."

"Yeah, come on Carly, it'll be fun! I get to wear a tux!" Spencer said excitedly. "And c'mon, kiddo, I want you there with me, I can't stay attached to April all night...we can spend the night trying to figure out who has hairpieces and who doesn't."

"Definitely Mr. Montclair. It looks like something someone ran over with a car," April replied, making a face. "Come on, Carly! There'll be Brie!"

"Who is Brie?" I asked with a confused face, and April laughed.

"It's cheese."

"Oh," I responded, making a face. "Well, I guess I like cheese."

"I'll let you have champagne," Spencer bargained with me, and my eyebrows went up.

"Really? Like real champagne?"

"Uh, yeah, my parents don't skimp on this, Carly. There's always Cristal."

"Who's Cristal?"

"Nevermind," April said with a roll of her eyes. "Just go get ready, okay?"

"Okay," I yelled, snatching my dress off the couch and running upstairs. I got in my room to find my phone blinking at me. Ooh, a text! I hoped it was from Brad.

I looked at my phone, excited that it WAS from Brad, and clicked on the message.

Brad: Love you and miss you, babe. Hope you have a good Christmas. It sucks being without you.

I texted him back.

'I love you and miss you so much. Spencer and April are making me go to some formal Christmas party. I wish you were here with me. I'll send you a picture of my dress. It's a ballgown.'

Brad texted me back almost instantly, and I read the message, smirking a bit.

Brad: Please do send me a pic. Formal party, huh? Ooo, fancy!

'Yeah, tell me about it. April said Brie and Cristal would be there.'

Beep! Another message.

Brad: Who are Brie and Cristal?

I laughed, before getting up to put on my dress so I could snap a few photos to send to my gorgeous but oblivious boyfriend.

After I'd taken a few photos for Brad and gotten ready, I headed downstairs to find Spencer and April waiting for me, Spencer in his tux and April in this gorgeous white dress that looked oddly familiar.

"Aw, Carly!" April said with a squeal. "You look so pretty! So grown up!"

"Thanks," I said, doing a little twirl. "Maybe it's just my imagination, but is that..."

"The dress from Black Swan? Yeah, it is. I saw it when Spencer and I rented the movie, and I HAD to have it. There's no way anyone can tell I'm pregnant in it too."

"April, you're not even showing yet!" I said with a roll of my eyes.

"I am a little bit...just a little, but I didn't want wear something really form fitting. Carly, you look so good in green! That was a perfect match for you!"

"Yeah, thanks for getting it for me...how much was it, so I can pay you back?"

"Don't worry about it," April replied, looking at the ground.

"April..." I said in a firm tone of voice. "How much was this dress?"

"Yeah, how much was that thing?" Spencer asked. "You wouldn't tell me either..."

"Um, it was only..." she trailed off, mumbling.

"What?" I asked. "Speak up."

"It was only five grand."

"Five thousand dollars?" I cried. "I'm wearing a five thousand dollar dress? Oh my god! I can't wear this, I'm afraid I might breathe on it!"

"Carly!" April cried. "Come on! You look pretty, and it's not that much!"

"Not that much? April! Families in Eastern Europe make less than that in a year!"

"Well, I..." she trailed off, sighing. "I shouldn't have said anything. Forget I said anything."

"No, April, I love it!" I replied, grabbing her hands. "I'm just not used to it! You're loaded!"

"Yeah, well," she shrugged. "At least I'm not hoarding my money, right?"

"True, I guess."

"And I have handbags that cost more than that, and..."

"April?" I cut her off.

"Yes?"

"You're making your future sister-in-law feel inferior, now stop!" I said with a laugh, before hugging her. "Thank you. I love it."

"You beautiful ladies ready to go?" Spencer asked, heading towards the door.

"Almost," I replied. "Can I just run across the hall real quick and show Sam my dress?"

"Sure," Spencer said with a shrug. "But hurry, okay? I don't want to be late."

"Well, the party started a half hour ago, but you're supposed to be fashionably late anyway," April said with a shrug.

"I have no idea what I'm getting into," I said with a sigh, before walking across the hall and banging on Sam and Freddie's door. It creaked open a minute later, and I guess I'd gotten there during one of the rare moments when they weren't having sex, because there stood Freddie.

"Hey, Carly!" he said, before looking up and down at my dress. "Whoa. Going to the Oscars?"

"Close," I replied. "April's parents are having this big formal party, Spencer and April asked me to come. Sam's here, right?"

"Of course," he replied. "Come on in."

"Hey Carly!" Sam yelled.

"Hey, Sa-" I trailed off, frowning. "Why are you covered in garland?"

Sam shrugged. "I dunno, seemed like the right thing to do. Look, Freddie got me a tree! Isn't he the best husband EVER?"

"Aw, Sam!" I said with a smile. I knew for a fact Sam had never had a Christmas tree before, other than her "Christmas Cactus" from a few years back. She must be absolutely be ecstatic. I looked over at Freddie and gave him a smile.

"Freddie, that's so sweet. I think you just made Sam's whole year with this one."

He shrugged, with a little smile of his own. "I hope so."

"And he got me a stocking, and turtle doves!" she said excitedly, before finally noticing my outfit. "Wow! Where you going all dolled up?"

"Formal party at April's parents. It's supposed to be super nice, April said Brie and Cristal will be there!"

"Who are Brie and Cristal?" Freddie asked with a confused expression.

"That's what I said," I said with a laugh. "And Brad, when I texted him. But god, check out this dress! April got it for me! She paid five grand for it! Can you believe that!"

"Jesus!" Sam yelled. "That's like a down payment on a car! Someone's trying to buy her sister-in-law's affection."

"I think she just really wants me to like her," I said with a shrug. "Maybe she's trying to get the babysitting thing set up now."

"I wanna babysit!" Sam cried.

"Sam! It's gonna be my niece or nephew!"

"So?"

Freddie snorted. "April's rich, they'll probably get a nanny."

I shrugged. "Well, whatever. So you guys like my dress?"

"Yeah, you look really good," Freddie said, nodding in approval.

"Yeah, it looks great!" Sam added. "Looks good with Brad's necklace."

"Yeah," I said with a smile, touching it. "I wish he were here. I'd love to see him in a tux."

"Freddie looks nice in a suit," Sam commented. "He was wearing one when he proposed."

"Aw," I said. "You guys are ridiculously sweet."

"Make sure you keep that on the DL, Carls. Don't want my rep to get tarnished," Sam stated.

"Too late, everyone knows Freddie turned you into a big sap," I replied, laughing when she nodded. "I gotta get going, you two have fun."

"K!" she replied. "Have fun tripping the le fantastique!"

"When'd you learn French?" I asked, giving her a confused look, and she shrugged.

"Mom's fiance number seven."

"French and Italian? Not bad!"

"Don't forget the Portuguese guy! I learned a few things from him too."

"Yeah, carjacking," Freddie said with a roll of his eyes.

"Alright, whatever," I said with a laugh. "Bye guys."

"Later," Freddie called, shutting the door behind me. I walked back across the hall, sticking my head in the door.

"Ready!" I called to Spencer and April. "Let's go!"

~*Sam*~

"Freddie!" I yelled in alarm.

"What? What's wrong?" he yelled from the bathroom. He'd been in the shower, but it sounded like he was out now.

"Get in here now!"

"What's going on?" he asked, walking out with a towel around his waist, holding another towel and drying his hair.

I looked down at the floor dejectedly. "I knocked off one of the ornaments and it broke," I said sadly, showing him the broken pieces I'd picked up.

Freddie just laughed, shaking his head. "Baby, it's fine. It's one ornament, they can be replaced."

"But..." I trailed off, poking my bottom lip out. "I broke it!"

"So?" he replied.

"My tree..." I trailed off sadly, looking at it. "Now it's tainted."

"Baby!" Freddie laughed, his arms going around me. "It's not tainted! It's fine!"

It was Christmas Eve, and Freddie and I were just hanging out in the apartment. He'd asked me if I wanted to go out, but I'd said no. I wanted to sit in our apartment, on the couch, and stare at my Christmas tree. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, next to Freddie of course. And my wedding ring. I bit my bottom lip, thinking about all the amazing stuff Freddie had done for me, and started to tear up again.

"Why are you crying?" he asked suddenly. "Baby, it's one little ornament!"

"It's not that," I said softly, shaking my head.

"Then what?"

"I was just thinking."

"About?"

I didn't respond, just stood there, looking at the ground, hugging my arms to my chest.

"Baby?"

"My tree, and my ring, and you...and everything you've done for me...it's perfect. You're perfect. I love you so much, I don't deserve you."

Freddie sighed, pulling me to him. "Aw, baby, come here," he said, pulling me to him and wrapping his arms around me. "Don't cry, my sweet sweet baby. You're not supposed to cry, it's Christmas!"

"I'm sorry," I replied, sniffling a little bit. "I don't know what's gotten into me, I just feel really emotional, and...I love you, so much."

"I love you too, baby. Let me go put some clothes on, okay? Sit down, wait for the delivery guy, he should be here any minute."

"You did make sure there was no sugar in the lo-mein, right? Or the eggrolls?" I asked, giving him a Look.

"Yes, baby! Don't worry, you don't have to kill anyone tonight! I'll be fine."

"Okay," I said with a sigh, sitting down on the couch, waiting for Freddie to come back out. He did, a moment later, in a white wifebeater and those gray pajama bottoms I loved, the ones he was wearing the morning he totally busted me checking his ass out, before we got married. Man, things were so different back then. I was afraid to tell him how I felt, but I wasn't afraid anymore.

"I wanted to wait until tomorrow to give this to you, but I thought you might like it now," Freddie stated, handing me a small box. It was light blue with a big white bow on it, the same kind Carly's necklace from Brad had come in. What did she say it was...Tiffany's?

"What is it?"

"It's a pony," he said flatly, and I glared at him, making him laugh. "Just open it, baby!"

I pulled the lid off and gasped. It was a beautiful chain-link bracelet with a heart shaped charm dangling from it. "Freddie!" I said. "Oh my god, it's beautiful!"

"Read it."

I looked down at it and laughed. "It says I Hate You."

"And what does the date say?"

"4-8-09," I replied.

"Do you know that date?" Freddie asked, and I shook my head.

"That was the day we had our first kiss," he replied, his arm going around me and kissing my neck.

"Baby!" I exclaimed. "You remembered the day?"

"Mmhmm. It was burned into my brain."

I couldn't help but smile. "That's so sweet," I said softly. "You're so sweet."

"Flip it over," he said, and I turned the charm over.

"This side says I Love You."

"You'd better know that date, Mrs. Benson," Freddie growled, and I laughed, shaking my head.

"Of course I do. 7-14-11. That's the day we got married."

"So," Freddie said as he slid the bracelet onto my wrist. "From I Hate You to I Love You. Funny how things work out, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say so," I replied with a smile. "But I wouldn't change it. For a thing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Not even..." he trailed off, biting his lip, and I knew what he was getting at.

"Bill?" I asked, and he nodded. "No. I wouldn't. It hurt like a bitch. But everything we went through just brought us closer."

"Right," he replied. "Okay, but if I could I'd wake up tomorrow and be diabetes-free. Sorry."

I shrugged. "That's fine, baby. And I understand."

"You've been so good about helping me with that," Freddie replied, rubbing my back. "More than you'll realize. You don't let me feel like a damn weakling."

"Because you're not!" I cried. "You're one of the strongest people I know. And you're my protector. You take care of me. You'd have to be pretty damn tough to put up with someone like me."

Freddie grinned. "I never said it was easy," he replied, before kissing me. "But I do enjoy my work."

A knock at the door brought us out of our romantic musings, and Freddie stood up. "That's the chinese, I'll get it. You wanna put those blankets on the floor so we can lay down there and watch TV?"

"What are we watching again?"

"Rudolph and The Grinch."

"Cartoons?"

"Yep. It's tradition. And if you're a good girl, I'll rub your back."

"You're gonna rub MY back?"

"Mmhmm. The bet's been suspended for the night."

"Okay," I responded with a happy sigh, getting up and going to the task of spreading out the massive pile of blankets onto the floor. I laid down on my stomach, looking at the TV, and a moment later Freddie sat down next to me, with the food.

"Beef and broccoli?" he asked, and I snatched the carton away from him, grabbing chopsticks and and diving in.

"So...this reindeer...he's like the black sheep," I commented, watching the tv.

"Uh-huh, because he's different from the rest of his family."

"Aw, he's like poor Brad."

Freddie laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Have you heard from him lately?"

"No," Freddie replied with a shrug. "I figure he's busy building potato guns or swinging on ropes in the middle of the woods or whatever else they do."

"Yeah, I guess so. You're never gonna let me near another potato gun again, are you?"

"Hell no," Freddie replied. "Sorry."

I shrugged, not really caring. "Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"This is the best Christmas ever. Thank you."

He turned to look at me, leaning forward to kiss me. "You deserve it."

"There's one more thing I want though," I said.

"What? Name it, I'll get it for you."

I smirked a little, putting down my food to trail a fingertip over his chest. "You. I want you."

"Right now?"

"Right now," I replied. "Here, in the living room, on these blankets, by the tree."

"No argument here," Freddie replied, moving the food so we wouldn't knock it over before leaning over me to kiss me.

I couldn't believe how incredibly happy I was right now, Freddie had done everything to make sure my Christmas was perfect, and it wasn't even over with yet. But honestly, the rest of the holiday could suck, and it'd still be the best Christmas of my entire life. Without all the extra stuff, it still would've been the best. Because I had Freddie. And I was never going to let him go. Ever.


	82. Chapter 82: I'll Be Back

**Chapter Eighty Two:  
>I'll Be Back<strong>

~*Freddie*~

"Baby wake up," I heard Sam murmur in my ear. I groaned, shifting a little, burying my face in the pillow.

"It's too early, baby," I replied. "Go back to sleep."

"No. Wake up."

"Sam..." I groaned. "Come on. I'm tired."

It got quiet, and I figured Sam had given up, until I felt her hand moving down my chest, pulling the hem of my shirt up a little and then running her hand over my stomach. I tried to ignore it, we'd been up really late and I was exhausted. I had no clue what time it was, but I figured it was way too early. My eyes popped open as I felt her hand go into my pants, kissing my back.

"Sam..."

"What?" she said in a sexy voice, kissing my neck. "I want you to wake up."

"Baby, I..." I trailed off, groaning, when I felt her wrap her hand around me, moving up and down slowly.

"You were saying?" she replied with a giggle. I gave up when she grabbed my shoulder, forcing me onto my back, before straddling me, grinding her hips down on me.

"Baby..." I whined. "You're killing me."

"You love it," she responded, pushing my shirt up and over my head, before kissing a steady trail down my neck, over my chest, licking at my abs, before yanking my pajama bottoms down. "Hmm. You may be tired, but he's not," she commented, before licking over me, and then taking me into her mouth.

"Sam," I hissed, my hips moving on their own. "Damn, baby..."

She didn't respond, just gave me a sexy smile before going back to the task of pleasuring me with her mouth. God I loved her mouth. She was just so good at this. She moved up and down faster, showing me no mercy, one hand rubbing up and down my stomach and chest, the other wrapped around me, moving in time with her mouth. I moaned, my hands going to her hair, and she kept going.

In no time at all, she had me arching my back, gripping the sheets, trying desperately not to thrust against her, but it was a losing battle.

"Shit, baby...damn...oh god...Sam...I...Sam...baby...SAM!" I yelled as she finally pushed me over the edge. I collapsed against the bed, breathing heavily, unable to focus, until I felt her kissing back up my body before kissing me on the side of my neck and snuggling against me.

"Merry Christmas, baby, now GET UP!" she said. "I wanna get up!"

"Ugh," I moaned. "Fine." Who was I to argue with my sexy wife when she'd just woke me up like THAT?

I sat up, groaning, stretching a bit, and I felt Sam slide behind me, rubbing my shoulders and kissing the back of my neck.

"Someone's in a good mood, considering it's..." I looked over at the clock and rolled my eyes. "Eight o'clock in the morning."

"I couldn't wait any longer," she replied, bouncing a little bit, her arms going around me from behind and hugging me.

"Thought you hated Christmas," I teased.

"Until you came along," she replied sweetly, kissing the side of my neck before getting up. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth. So you can kiss me."

"Okay," I said, yawning. "I'll be here, in bed."

"Freddie!" she scolded, her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare go back to sleep, if I have to wake you up again, it won't be as pleasant as the first time."

"Alright, baby. You win," I replied, standing up. "Please tell me there's more energy shots in the fridge."

"Of course," she replied. "I love you. Merry Christmas." She gave me a big grin, then bounded off to the bathroom. I couldn't help but smile, Sam was absolutely adorable when she was all happy like this. I was pretty pleased with myself that I'd managed to make her so happy, but she definitely deserved it. I grabbed a sweatshirt and put it on before heading to the kitchen.

"Wow, you two are up early for a change," my mom commented as she stood at the counter drinking coffee.

"Yeah," I replied with a yawn, going to the fridge and pulling out an energy shot. "Sam's all amped up. What time did you get in last night?"

"Oh, four, five..." my mom trailed off.

"Now what'd I tell you about staying out late?" I taunted her, and she just rolled her eyes at me.

"Very cute, Fredward. The benefit was a big success, we raised a lot of money for the hospital."

"Awesome," I responded.

"So I guess you turned Sam into a fan of Christmas then?"

I shrugged. "I tried."

"Well, I think maybe -"

"I'm back!" Sam yelled, skipping into the living room. "Hey Marissa, Merry Christmas!" she bounded over to her and gave her a hug, surprising my mom, who just looked at me and laughed.

"I think it worked," she finished, and I nodded.

"I'd say so."

"Did you see this?" Sam asked my mom, showing her the bracelet I'd given her.

"Oh, it's pretty..." she trailed off, giving me a strange look. "I hate you?"

"And it says I love you on this side," Sam explained. "Because the first we kissed, when we fourteen, Freddie said he hated me right afterwards."

"Fredward!" my mom scolded me, but shook her head. "I swear, you two have the weirdest relationship..."

"The most awesome relationship," Sam corrected her. "And I love my bracelet."

"Well, as long as you like it, that's the important thing I guess," my mom said with a laugh.

"I got you something!" Sam said, bouncing up and down.

"Baby, calm down!" I laughed, my arms going around her waist and pulling her to me so her back was against my chest, kissing her neck. "Are you gonna be like this all day?"

"Uh-huh," she replied, looking up at me. "That a problem?"

"I guess not," I replied. "Just never seen you THIS happy before."

"Well, it's all because of you," she replied, turning around in my arms so we were face-to-face. "You are the sweetest..." she kissed me. "Most wonderful..." Another kiss. "Considerate..." She kissed me again. "Man in the whole wide world. And I love you."

I grinned at her, before kissing her deeply. "I love you too, baby."

"Okay okay okay!" Sam said, pulling away from me and grabbing my arm, dragging me towards the living room. "Come on! I got you stuff!"

"Wait!" I yelled, snatching my energy shot off the table and opening it, downing it quickly. I grimaced a little at the taste. Those things tasted awful, but they worked, and they worked good. Still, I missed coffee, but I'd never been able to stomach the taste of artificial sweetener, so I'd had to let it go. "Okay, I'm good."

Sam dragged me toward the couch and shoved me down onto it, before practically diving underneath the tree, pulling out a box and giving it to my mom. "Here you go! You're a really hard person to shop for, you know that? All I know is you're a nurse, and up until five months ago you were too protective of your son!"

"I was not too protective!" my mom stated indignantly, shrinking a bit when Sam and I gave her pointed looks. "Okay, fine, maybe a little. But I've put it behind me, you're all grown up now."

"So, mom...what changed, exactly?" I asked, and she shrugged, looking over at Sam.

"You're well taken care of now," she responded with a smile.

"You're right, I am," I agreed. "Very well taken care of."

"Okay, Sam, let's see what you got me..." my mom said, tearing open the paper. "Aw, this is pretty. Look, Freddie, Sam got me a painting!" She held it up so I could see it, it was the Seattle skyline, but done in pastel colors that matched my mom's bedroom color scheme.

"It's for your room," Sam said. "Spencer helped me pick it out, he knows way more about art than I do."

"Wait, when did you go shopping with Spencer?" I asked her quizzically, and she shrugged.

"Maybe if you pulled your head out of the boxing ring once in awhile, you'd know what I was up to," she replied, and I laughed.

"Yeah, I gave trying to figure out what you were up to a long time ago. It's much better for my sanity that way."

"Probably," Sam agreed with a shrug.

"Wait, what's this?" My mom asked, opening an envelope. "Samantha! Did you get me a gift certificate for..."

"What?" Sam asked with a grin. "I just thought Dr. Robert might want to see you in some nice frilly sexy things."

"Sam!" I exclaimed. "Did you buy my mother a gift certificate to a lingerie store?"

"Maybe," Sam said, looking innocent.

"Ewww..." I said, trailing off when my mom glared at me.

"Aw, thank you Sam. You're a good daughter-in-law." She gave her a hug.

"You're welcome," she replied. "I didn't really know what to get you, but I wanted to say thanks, for letting me stay here..."

"You're my son's wife, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Force us to annul the marriage," Sam responded, and I snorted.

"Yeah right, I went to great lengths to make sure this marriage could never be legally annulled. Great lengths. Multiple times."

"Enough, Freddie, we get it," my mom said with a roll of her eyes. "Well, I'm gonna hang this up, and then I have to go get ready to go meet Robert, he's making me breakfast at his place."

"When are you guys just gonna shack up and get it over with?" Sam asked.

"Sam!" I warned, but she ignored me.

"Well, you two will be out in a week..." my mom said with a wink. "Freddie, presents are under the tree. You two have a great day, I'll see you guys later."

"Okay!" Sam and I called.

"Alright, baby, get your ass over here," I called to her, and she bounded across the living room before jumping into my lap.

"Oof!" I said, but I kissed her anyway, laughing a bit. "Man you're excited."

Sam just shrugged. "Is it too much?"

"No," I replied, kissing her again. "It's cute."

"Okay," she said. "Wanna see what I got you?"

"Sure," I replied. "Then it's your turn."

"But, baby! The tree and everything that went with it and the bracelet were more than enough!"

"Bullshit," I replied, shaking my head. "I could've bought out the whole mall and it still wouldn't have been enough. You deserve everything."

"Stop," Sam said. "You're gonna make me all weepy again. I refuse to cry on Christmas. Now, first of all," she said, changing the subject. "You know how you've been missing your coffee like a crackhead misses his rocks?"

"Gee thanks," I said with a laugh. "But yeah, I know what you mean."

"Okay," Sam said standing up and grabbing a package, handing it to me. "Open this."

I pulled the paper off and grinned a little. "What is this?"

"Well, I know you like the sugar-free lattes at Starbucks, but you're too cheap to pay five bucks a pop for them, so I convinced the manager at Starbucks to sell me a few bottles of the sugar-free sweetener."

"Convinced?" I asked, giving her a Look.

"Okay, fine! I threatened! But still! Now you can have your coffee back!" she said with a smile.

"Damn, baby!" I exclaimed, grabbing her arm and yanking her to me, kissing her. "Thank you, you have no idea how happy this makes me."

"Well, maybe not as happy as this..." she trailed off, going back to the tree and pulling another box out, handing it to me.

"Sam!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening as I unwrapped it. "You bought me a new laptop?"

"Mmhmm. The Pearbook Air. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" I replied, kissing her. "I've been checking this out for months!"

"Well, now you have it!"

"You're pretty good at this gift thing, you know that?" I asked, kissing her.

"I try."

"You succeeded."

"I got you some more stuff," she offered shyly.

"Okay, well, I got you some more stuff too. You sit down, quit bouncing all over the place, let me get the stuff," I replied, getting up to pull the rest of the gifts out.

~*Carly*~

"Spencer! Do NOT hang that up!" I warned as I watched my brother climb the ladder, headed for the ceiling.

"What? Why not?" Spencer replied, looking down at me.

"Mistletoe? Seriously? That's like a homing beacon for Sam and Freddie! If they spot that, it's a done deal, and they probably won't stop at kissing either!"

"Come on, Scrooge, relax, it's Christmas," Spencer replied, ignoring my order about the mistletoe and hanging it up anyway.

"I am not being Scrooge-y," I replied, my arms crossed over my chest. "I miss my boyfriend."

"He'll be back tomorrow afternoon, Carly," April reminded me. "Can you check on those muffins? I don't want Spencer near the oven."

"Why not?" Spencer yelled from the ladder, and April and I both looked up at him.

"Because you'll set the muffins on fire!" I replied, walking over to the oven and peeking inside. "They don't look done yet."

I leaned against the counter for a second, and then looked up as I heard a faint tapping against the door. And then another.

"That's gotta be Sam and Freddie," I said, walking around the counter toward the door. I opened it, then shrieked as something whizzed by head.

"Aaaah!"

"Hey, Carly!" Sam said, poking her head in the door.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, turning around to look at the projectile currently flying around my apartment.

"Remote control helicopter," Freddie said, appearing from behind the wall next to the door where he'd been standing. "Sam got it for me. Isn't it sweet?"

"I guess so," I replied, looking up at it.

"It flies backwards, forwards, side to side...man this thing is cool!" Freddie said, continuing to make the toy helicopter fly around the apartment.

"Ugh, boys and their toys," I said with a roll of my eyes. "So I guess you guys are in a good mood."

Sam just grinned at me. "Ecstatic. Look what Freddie got me!" She held out her wrist, showing me a bracelet with a heart-shaped charm.

"It says I hate you," I said with a laugh.

"One side, it says I love you on the other side. Isn't it cute?"

I shrugged. "It's totally you guys."

"Yeah," Sam said with a smile. She looked back at Freddie. "Hey, gimme that thing!" She snatched the control out of his hand. "Watch this."

Suddenly the helicopter zoomed right over Spencer's head, startling him, and he fell off the ladder, clattering to the ground, groaning helplessly.

"Spence, you alright?" Sam asked with a grin.

"I'm good," he croaked from the floor. "What just happened to me?"

"The chopper!" Sam yelled in a New Jersey accent, before handing the control back to Freddie.

I looked over at her, laughing. "Alright, fine, that thing is pretty sweet."

"So...how goes it?" Sam asked, plopping down on the couch.

I shrugged. "I miss Brad."

"Aw, he'll be back tomorrow!"

"I know, I just wish he was here!" I replied. "Melanie coming over?"

"Yep, and she's bringing Carrie."

"Ugh, really? I can't believe you're being so cool about this whole thing."

Sam shrugged. "Not my business to judge what my sister's into."

"But..."

"No buts, Carly, you be nice!"

I sighed. "Fine. Ow!" I hollered suddenly as the toy helicopter flew into my head. "Freddie!"

"Sorry!" he called.

"God, you're acting like a little kid," I stated.

"Isn't it adorable?" Sam replied.

"Um, yeah, okay."

Sam and I sat on the couch, just talking, while Freddie amused himself with his toy, and about twenty minutes later there came a knock at the door. I stood up, sighing. "That must be Mel and Carrie." I opened the door. "Hey, you guys."

"Hey, Carly," Melanie greeted me. "Carrie, come on."

"Hi," Carrie said shyly, giving a little wave.

"Hey Carrie."

"Melanie!" Sam cried, jumping up and bounding over to her, hugging her.

"Whoa," Mel laughed, hugging Sam back. "Did you get into the Christmas booze or something?"

"No, I'm just very, very happy."

"Why?"

"Freddie's just so damn sweet." She looked around suddenly, frowning. "Speaking of which, where the hell is he?"

"He's at the top of the stairs," I said with a roll of my eyes, pointing upward at the helicopter that was flying around at the top of the ceiling. "He really likes that thing."

"Yeah," Sam replied. "He likes the laptop too, but laptops don't fly."

"That's not what you said about Gibby's computer sophomore year," I reminded her with a grin, and she shrugged.

"Well, Gibby's doesn't fly that well."

"Especially not now," I said with a grimace.

"Oh well," she shrugged. "Freddie!"

"What?" Freddie called from the top of the stairs.

"Get your ass down here!"

"Why?"

"Freddie," Sam warned. "Now!"

"Ugh, fine!" he yelled, stomping down the stairs. "Just playing with my chopper."

"Is that some kind of euphemism for something else?" Melanie asked with a grin, and Sam thumped her on the arm, laughing, before looking towards the stairs.

"There's my sexy man," Sam said, making a happy noise when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

"Guys, stop!" I whined.

"Do you miss Brad that bad?" Freddie asked as he sat down on the couch, pulling Sam into his lap, and I nodded sadly.

"I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Just try to keep your head on straight til then," Freddie replied.

"So, I heard you managed to de-Grinch my sister," Melanie commented to Freddie, and he shrugged.

"Did my best."

"Well you did a good job, baby," Sam replied, kissing him again. "Love you."

"Love you too," Freddie replied, his hand rubbing her back softly, before looking over at Mel. "Okay, I gotta know something, Mel."

"Okay..." Melanie said, sitting down on a barstool next to Carrie.

"Alright, so we all know, you bat for the other team..."

"Yeah? Is that a problem?"

Freddie shook his head. "None of my business. But...if you are...you know, a K.D. Lang fan, then when you showed up a few years back, and we went out on that date...why'd you kiss me? Ow!" Freddie glared at Sam, rubbing the spot on his chest where she'd pinched him. "I'm just curious, damn!"

Melanie shrugged. "You thought I was Sam."

"So?"

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Look, I know my sister. Anybody she spends that much time picking on, going out of her way to touch, even if it is only hitting them, she's secretly in love with. And the way you just kept on running off at the mouth about how you were SURE I was Sam...but you still couldn't stop looking at me..." she trailed off, shrugging. "You liked her too, you just didn't know it yet. I was trying to throw you guys a bone. Nothing I could have done would have convinced you I wasn't Sam, so I figured, if I just planted one on you, maybe the two of you would stop being so dumb and fighting all the time..."

Freddie and Sam gave each other confused looks. "So...you kissed me because you thought it would help move things along between me and Sam," Freddie said.

"Basically. You guys were dumb! It was so obvious you two liked each other!"

"She's right," I added. "Melanie didn't even have to be around the two of you at the same time to know you were in love with each other. It was obvious!"

"It wasn't obvious!" Sam argued. "How could it be? I didn't even know I liked Freddie back then!"

"Everyone else did," I replied, giving her a Look.

"Okay, so did everyone know Sam and I had a thing for each other before we did?" Freddie asked.

"Yes!" Melanie and I, along with Spencer, who was in the kitchen with April, yelled.

Freddie and Sam just looked at each other, amused, before shrugging and kissing.

"I still hate you," Freddie teased her, and she rolled her eyes, grinning.

"I hate you more."

"Ugh, you guys are so weird," I commented.

~*Sam*~

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" Carly asked worriedly as she paced back and forth across her living room.

"Carly, calm down, he'll be here!" I said.

Christmas had come and gone, and it was the most amazing Christmas I'd ever had. I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but after what Freddie had done for me just over the past three days, it'd actually made me love him more. It was incredible how much a silly little tree could make me so happy, but it had. Now, a whole new chapter was going to take place in our lives, in only five days, we'd moving in with Carly. It'd be new for her too, it was the first time she'd ever be living without members of her own family. We were both really excited, but Freddie was still a little hesitant about it. He was nervous that Carly and I would fight, that we wouldn't have any privacy, and that our "activities" would get on Carly's nerves, but I had high hopes for everything.

"Where's Freddie?" I asked, looking around.

"Chill, Sam, he just went upstairs to switch out the software programs from the old hard drive to the new one. He really loves that new laptop, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does. I'm glad too, I was so worried he wouldn't like it."

Carly rolled her eyes. "He loves anything from you. You could have gotten him a clump of dirt and he would have loved it."

"Wow, why didn't you say that before?" I said sarcastically.

"Still haven't taken that bracelet off yet, have you?" Carly asked with a smile, and I shook my head.

"Only in the shower. What about Brad's necklace?"

"I've been alternating between the snowflake and the locket," she said with a shrug. "Oh my god, where is Brad?"

A knock came at the door suddenly, and Carly let out a shriek, before running to the door, yanking it open. "BRAD!"

"Hey babe," he laughed as Carly jumped on him, wrapping her arms and legs around him. "Miss me?" he asked before kissing her.

"You have no idea," she said with a sigh. "I thought you'd never get here."

"Well, here I am," he replied as she dragged him into the apartment. "Sup Sam."

"Yo," I replied. "How was Tacoma?"

"Eh," he responded with a shrug, before sitting down. I scooted over to make room for Carly, but she just plopped down into Brad's lap, wrapping her arms around him. I smirked.

"Somebody missed her boyfriend," I said, and she nodded, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Where's your hubby?" Brad asked.

"He's upstairs, moving files or software or whatever. I got him a new laptop."

"Nice," Brad replied. I stood up.

"Hold on, I'll get him," I said, walking to the bottom of the staircase. "Baby!"

"Yeah?"

"Brad's back!"

"Be right there," Freddie called. A moment later, he came down the stairs, kissing me on top of my head. "My laptop is so bad ass!"

"Glad you like it," I said with a smile.

"Sup dude!" Freddie yelled to Brad. "How goes it?"

"I'm better, now," Brad replied, playing with Carly's hair. "How'd it go here?"

"Horrible," Carly mumbled against his neck.

"Whatever, Shay," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "It was absolutely fantastic!"

Brad gave Freddie a strange look. "Dude, did you drug her or something? Why is she so happy?"

"Don't mind her, she's still high on Christmas spirit," Freddie responded, sitting down in the armchair and pulling me into his lap.

"So, did you..." I trailed off, frowning, when I looked at Brad's face. "Dude, what happened to your face? Were you on the wrong end of the potato gun?"

"What? Nothing," Brad replied quickly, shifting a little bit so his jaw was covered by Carly's hair.

"Nothing, huh?" I replied. "You have a yellow spot on your jaw. Like an old bruise."

"It's nothing!" Brad said.

"I'm calling bullshit," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, ignoring the poke to the side Freddie gave me.

"Sam," Brad said, giving me a Look.

"Brad." I glared at him. "Carly? Doesn't something look off about his face?"

Carly lifted her head to look at Brad's face, and he gave me a dirty look as Carly grabbed his jaw to inspect it closer.

"It IS a bruise!" she exclaimed. "Baby, what happened?"

"Nothing," Brad shifted uncomfortably.

Freddie and I looked at each other suspiciously, and then back at Brad. This sounded oddly familiar. And it sounded familiar because it was a line that I had to use on the regular, up until five and half months ago.

"Brad, did something happen?" I asked. "Was your dad really pissed at you for walking off when he told you to babysit?"

Brad shrugged. "Maybe."

"And maybe he slugged you?"

Brad looked at the floor. "I'm really not comfortable talking about this."

"Too bad," I replied. "Dude, did your dad hit you, yes or no?"

Brad was silent, and Carly slid off his lap to sit next to him. "Baby?"

"Oh my god, it's not that big of a deal!" Brad yelled suddenly. "It's not like he'd ever hit me before!"

"Brad!" Freddie yelled. "It IS a big deal!"

"Oh come on, I can take that shit!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, you can take it, until he really loses his shit one day and puts you in the hospital!"

"It's not gonna come to that! I just made him mad!"

"Alright, that's it!" I yelled, jumping off of Freddie's lap and grabbing Brad by the arm, yanking him to his feet and dragging him to Spencer's bedroom. "Get your ass in there! We gotta talk!"

"Sam!" Freddie and Carly yelled, getting up, but it was too late, I'd already shut the door and locked it. I ignored the banging on the door and whirled around to glare at Brad, who was just sitting there, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring back at me.

"Sit!" I yelled. With a roll of his eyes, he acquiesced, sitting on the edge of the bed. We stared at each other for a few seconds. "Tell me what happened?"

"I mean, not much. I came in at like six AM the morning we were supposed to leave, mouthed off, he hit me, and then he told me to go pack up mine and Bryson's stuff," Brad replied with a shrug.

"So what did you do?" I asked. "After he hit you."

"Nothing. I just took it, like a bitch. I think I might have been in shock or something."

I nodded. "Did you say anything to him about it? At all?"

"No."

"Did he bring it up?"

"No."

I stood there, thinking for a moment. "Okay. That means he got whatever he was pissed off about out of his system. You think it was because you were rebelling?"

"Definitely," Brad replied with a nod. "What the fuck am I supposed to do, Sam? It's embarrassing."

"Yeah, I know," I replied softly. "I've been there, remember? It's absolutely humiliating when it happens. But here's what you gotta do." I paused to make sure he was paying attention. "If he wants you to do something, do it. Don't rebel. At least not where he can catch you. You've gotta be sneaky. And anything you were doing before that made him think you were the perfect son, you've gotta step that up."

"You really think that's the best thing to do?"

"Until you turn eighteen? Absolutely," I replied. "There's no way in hell you'd get emancipated, your dad knows way too many people in the legal system to ever let that happen. It's almost not worth it anyway, when's your birthday again?"

"March."

"Yeah, totally not worth it," I replied. "Look, dude. I got your back, okay? If there's anyone who knows how to avoid an ass-kicking, it's me. Even though I might be a little off my game a little. I don't really worry about it anymore, being with Freddie and all."

"Yeah, I'd love to be off my game," Brad grunted, and I nodded.

"I know. Just stay out of his way, keep your grades up, babysit when he wants you to, if he starts asking you too much, just tell me, Freddie and I can handle your siblings."

"Yeah, Heather does like you a lot," Brad commented. "But only because she's like a mini-you."

I shrugged. "So? She sounds like she's pretty kick ass to me." I ignored the sudden eyeroll Brad gave me, going back to the topic at hand. "Above all, if he does it again, do NOT fight back. That just makes them madder. That's how I got my ribcage shattered." I shivered a little at the thought.

"I don't think my father will break my ribs," he replied, and I shrugged.

"No, but maybe your jaw. That's a pretty big bruise, even if it has healed up for the most part. Look, just keep your guard up. Maybe at the gym with Freddie focus more on ducking hits rather than getting in hits of your own."

"You want me to train to prevent me from getting my ass kicked by my dad?"

I nodded. "Absolutely. Unless you want him to beat the shit out of you."

"He's never done it before though," Brad commented. "Caught me completely off-guard."

"Then keep your guard up!" I hollered, reaching out and shaking his shoulders. "He's done it now, the barrier's been broken, he will try to do it again if you make him mad enough!"

Brad sighed, shoving me away a little bit. "I don't want to deal with this."

"Yeah, I know. It sucks. But just keep your chin up, you don't have that much longer to go, just a few more months. You're not still gonna go to that stupid military academy, are you?"

"Sam! I have to! My dad already wrote the check! And if I don't...he'll just take it out on the kids. And the whole family won't want to talk to me anymore."

"So?" I replied. "Your dad is just using you for his own ego and reputation, he doesn't care how bad he fucks your life up! On the other hand, that girl in there? She loves you with all her heart and would never hurt you in a million years, and doesn't care what you do with your life, as long as you're happy! What the hell, Brad?"

Brad shrugged again. "I dunno. I have to think about this," he replied, before standing up. "But thanks for trying to help, Sam, and I'll keep what you said in mind about keeping my guard up." He put an arm around me, hugging me just a second.

"It's cool," I replied. "I'm just trying to help. I've been there."

"Yeah, I know," Brad replied. "Lucky you for getting out of it."

"You will too, Brad, it's just gonna take some time, okay?"

He nodded, sighing a bit, before walking to the door and opening it. As he did, Freddie and Carly tumbled to the floor. It was obvious they'd been trying to eavesdrop, and I rolled my eyes. Brad did too, stepping over both of them.

"So much for being secure in our relationships," he grunted, sitting back down on the couch.

"Baby, it's not that!" Carly said, getting up and hurrying over to him. "I'm just worried about you! Please don't be mad at me, you just got back!"

"I'm not mad, babe," he replied, kissing her on the side of her head. "Just a little drained."

"Wanna go lay down?" Carly asked, and he nodded. "Okay, let's go." She shot a Look at me and Freddie, and Freddie raced for the stairs.

"Freddie! Leave!" Carly yelled at him. "You don't live here for five more days!"

"Not without my laptop!" he yelled back.


	83. Chapter 83: A Beginning

**A/N: Kind of a short chapter, but I should be posting another update tonight!**

**Chapter Eighty Three:  
><strong>**A Beginning**

~*Freddie*~

"No!"

"Sam, come on baby! You're being ridiculous!" I yelled, annoyed.

"I don't care! It's not coming down!" Sam responded, stepping in front of the Christmas tree and stretching her arms out. "Don't even THINK about touching my tree!"

"Baby!" I cried. "Number one, it's New Year's Day, that's when you're supposed to take it down, and number two, it's moving day! It's just gonna get in the way!"

"Herman will NOT get in the way!"

"You named the tree?" Brad asked as he came out of our room carrying a box. "Seriously?"

"Brad, go," I shooed him toward the door before looking at Sam. "Baby," I said gently, taking a step toward her. "Come on, we gotta take the tree down, it's gonna start turning brown."

"Can't we just put it in Carly's apartment?" she asked softly, and I shook my head.

"Sorry, sweetheart. But I promise we'll get another one next year, okay?"

She sighed, turning around to look at the tree. "Alright," she replied sadly. "But I love Herman."

I ignored the fact that she'd named the Christmas tree, which I'd never heard of before in my life, and pulled her into my arms, kissing her. I guess it was kind of cute that she'd gotten so attached to it that she'd given it a name though.

"So everything's all packed up," I said, rubbing her back. "All we gotta do is move the boxes and furniture, and then we're done, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"So, when Brad and I move the bed and the other furniture, I need you to make sure there's nothing in the way we can trip over, alright?"

"You know, I can help you move the bed, you don't need Brad. I'm just as strong as him, maybe stronger."

I laughed a little at Sam's toughness that always came out during these sorts of moments. "I know baby, but I'd rather you save your energy."

"For what?"

I leaned down, my mouth next to her ear. "We gotta christen our new room, don't we? And you're gonna need all the energy you can get."

She smiled a little, biting her bottom lip, nodding at me, before smirking. "You're just out of sorts because you didn't get any this morning," she replied, and I nodded.

"Just a little. You know I hate deviating from routine," I said with a smirk, before reaching around and lightly smacking her on her tight little butt. "Now get those ornaments off the tree..."

"Herman," she corrected me, and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. Get those ornaments off HERMAN, put them in that box over there, and then put them in that hall closet, they'll be fine in my mom's apartment for another year."

"What about the turtle doves? Can I keep those out?"

"Sure, baby," I replied. "I'm gonna go move some boxes, okay?"

"Alright," she replied, turning to Herman the Tree and beginning to take off the ornaments. "Did you take your shot?"

"Yeah, baby, I'm good," I replied before heading back to the bedroom and picking up a box, before walking across the hall with it. Carly was in the apartment, taping down the rest of Spencer's boxes.

"Hey, roomie!" she called to me.

"Hey Carly. What's up?"

"Just putting the finishing touches on these boxes," she replied. "Spencer has too much stuff."

"At least he's letting you keep the furniture," I replied, setting the box down. "And most of the stuff on the walls."

Carly shrugged. "April said Spencer's stuff doesn't really mesh with the décor in her house."

"Wow, he's not fighting her on it? Can we say whipped?" I asked, and Carly snorted. "What?"

"Coming from you, that's hilarious."

"I am NOT whipped," I replied indignantly, and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Super Dick."

"Stop calling me that!" I yelled. "Or I'll rethink this whole sublet thing!"

"Yeah, you can't, you already signed the lease," she replied with a grin. "But I'll stop. You guys need some help?"

I shrugged. "I think Brad's got it. You should probably finish with Spencer's stuff first, but thanks."

"No problem. Hey, where's Sam?"

"In the apartment, still."

Carly stood up, pushing her hair off her face. "Okay, I'll go see what she's up."

"You're bored, aren't you?" I asked her as I followed her across the hall.

"Incredibly," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "Hey Sam! What are you doing?"

"Pulling all the stuff off Herman so Freddie can kill him," she said, giving me a glare.

"Herman?"

I leaned towards Carly. "She named the tree."

"Why would you name a tree? That's weird, Sam!"

"So's your face!" Sam replied, irritated, before looking at me. "I'm done. I can't watch this."

"Easy, baby," I replied, walking over to her and kissing her. "We'll save that for last."

"Alright," she sighed. "Boxes?"

"Yep, can you guys get the rest out of there so Brad and I can go ahead and move the bed?"

"Thought you didn't need my help," Carly teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"Trying to save time, Carly. Help Sam move the boxes."

"Alright, fine," she replied. "Come on, Sam."

"This would go a lot faster if Sam didn't have so many damn clothes," Brad commented as we walked into the bedroom, making Sam scowl at him.

"Am I the only adult here today?" I said with a glare.

"You're only an adult because the courts say you are, dude. I'm closer than you are."

"Well, whatever," I replied, walking over to the other side of the bed and lifting the mattress up. Brad helped me carry it across the hall into Spencer's old room, and we leaned it against the wall before walking back into the apartment.

"The box spring's kinda awkward, so careful," I warned him, lifting it up. I looked down at the ground, smirking at what was hidden under the bed. "Oh, Sam!"

"What's up?" she asked, poking her head in the door.

"Thought you didn't keep secrets from me," I called, and she looked at me curiously.

"I don't! What are you talking about?" she replied.

"Really, then what are these?" I asked, pointing down to the case of Fat Cakes she'd stashed under the head of our bed.

She let out a gasp, her hand covering her mouth. "Oops...I mean...how did those get in there? They're not mine! Someone must have planted them!"

I tried to glare at her, to pretend to be mad, but I just couldn't, and I simply shook my head, laughing at her. "It's fine, baby. You don't have to hide those from me."

"But..." she trailed off, sighing. "I didn't want you to feel bad."

"Baby, I'm not gonna throw a diabetic temper tantrum just because you can't live without pre-packaged snack cakes! Now get out of the way so Brad and I can move this thing."

"So you're not mad?" She asked as she stepped out of the door, making way for me and Brad to move to the box spring out the door, and when I'd gotten close enough to her, I leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead.

"Nope," I replied. "Go ahead and grab it, you don't have to hide it from me."

"Okay," she said, giving me a sweet smile.

"Okay, I gotta admit, that was kinda cute," Brad commented as we struggled to move the behemoth of a box spring across the hall.

"What?"

"The fact that she hides everything with sugar in it from you so you don't feel bad."

"Yeah, she's pretty damn sweet, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." He paused. "What the hell did you do to her?"

I shrugged. "No idea. But you've gotta be pleased that you don't have to be on high alert all the time for getting socked in the gut by Angry Sam."

Brad nodded. "Everyone is." We leaned the box spring against the wall, by the mattress, and headed across the hall to break the bed frame down, and Brad suddenly let out a yelp as something hit him in the face.

"Incoming Fat Cake!" Sam hollered, and I just gave him a grin.

"See? Some things never change."

~*Carly*~

"So that's the last of it," Freddie said as he walked into the apartment, carrying the final box and putting it on the coffee table.

"So it's official?" I asked, feeling giddy.

"Yup," Freddie replied. "Sam and I don't live next door anymore, we live right there." He pointed to Spencer's old bedroom, which was now their room.

"Eeeee!" I cried, hugging Sam, who squealed just as loud as me. "Roomies!"

"Yay!" Sam yelled. "Although I don't think things are gonna be that different."

"Except you guys have keys now, and we don't have to worry about Spencer setting the apartment on fire anymore," I replied. "So, we should probably go over some ground rules, right?"

"Rules?" Sam said with a wrinkle of her nose.

"Yes, rules!" I replied. "Number one, please don't use my towels."

"Number two, under no circumstances, even if you're starving to death, do NOT eat Freddie's food!" Sam warned me, and I shrugged.

"I don't want that nasty sugar-free stuff," I replied. "Which reminds me, as soon as you figure out where, you need to show me where you keep the insulin pens. Just in case."

They both nodded. "Hands off my laptop," Freddie stated. "That's a big one."

"No problem there," I replied. "And...guys...just TRY to keep the noise under control. And don't do it on the counter or anything like that, okay? Or on the studio desk."

"Too late," Sam replied with a smirk, and my eyes widened.

"What? When?"

"Uh, the night we got back from Vegas. I waited for you and Spencer to pass out and then I snuck Freddie in," Sam said, grinning, and I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

"Man, that was a good night," Freddie added.

"Don't do it again! Try to confine it to your bed!"

"But what about the wall?" Sam asked.

"And the dresser," Freddie spoke up.

"And the shower."

"And the-"

"Alright!" I yelled. "Fine, just keep it in your bedroom and your bathroom, okay?"

"I guess it'll have to do," Sam replied with a shrug, and I rolled my eyes.

"Are you guys ever gonna cool it?"

"Well, we've been going like this for nearly six months, so no, probably not," Freddie replied.

"Hey, where's Brad? I thought he was with you," I said to Freddie, who shook his head.

"I thought he was with you."

"No, I have no idea..."

"You guys, check this out!" Brad yelled from the top of the stairs, and suddenly Freddie's toy helicopter flew down, right above our heads, spinning in circles. "I can make it flip!"

"Hey!" Freddie yelled, running to the stairs. "Gimme back my chopper!"

"You gotta catch me first, Benson!" Brad yelled, and I heard the thump thump thump of Brad running away as Freddie clattered up the stairs. Sam and I looked at one another, shaking our heads.

"Boys," I said with a roll of my eyes. "Wanna go to the mall? Let those two battle it out in peace?"

"Sure, roomie. Let's go." She turned in the direction of the stairs. "Baby, I'm leaving!"

No response. "Baby, I'm going to go buy new heels and miniskirts!"

Still nothing. "Baby, I'm going the mall in nothing but a crop top and no bra!" When Freddie didn't respond a third time, she just made an annoyed noise. "Fine, let's go." We linked arms and walked out the door, skipping toward the elevator.

Things seemed like they'd be awesome already! I was so happy to be living with my best friend! To make things even better, Brad didn't have to babysit tonight, so he was sleeping over. It was weird how controlling his father was, but encouraged his son to have an active sex life. Well, whatever, at least we didn't have to sneak around to do that!

Of course, after Sam and I had gotten back from the mall and the boys had stopped fighting over the toy helicopter, Brad and I had gotten it out of our systems pretty quick, but that didn't mean Sam and Freddie had.

"Ugh, this is getting to be too much," I whined helplessly, my head hanging over the couch. "We're never going to get any sleep. They've been at it for hours!"

"Shut up," Brad said suddenly. "Hold on."

"What?"

"Just hang on!" Brad said.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

Brad began listening intently to the noises coming from Sam and Freddie's room, and you could hear the sound of the bed banging against the wall picking up in frequency, moans getting louder, swear words getting dirtier. Oh god, this was horrible.

"And...right about..."

"FUCK!"

"Now!" Brad yelled, his arms going straight up like a football referee. "Touchdown!"

"Oh god, that's just sick!" I cried, burying my face in the sofa. A few minutes later, the door to their room opened, and Freddie walked out in a pair of nothing but pajama pants.

"What's up?" he asked, walking towards the kitchen. He slowed to a stop when he realized Brad and I were staring at him. "What's going on?"

"Dude, we gotta have a talk," Brad said.

"About what?" Freddie responded, crossing his arms.

Sam walked out just then, wearing Freddie's t-shirt. "Hey, Freddie, is there any..." she trailed off. "Oh god, is this some sort of intervention?"

"Yeah, a noise intervention!" I yelled. I watched Sam's face flush slightly.

"You guys are gonna have to tone it down a little bit!" Brad said, pulling me against him. I laid my head in his lap and he began playing with my hair. "Carly can't sleep or get anything done because there's a live porno soundtrack playing nearly at all times of day. Dude...do you ever get sore?" he asked Freddie pointedly. Freddie shrugged.

"Look, I don't really have any control over the whole...volume issue. I've tried." Freddie said.

"Dude, can't you gag her or something? Aren't you guys into that shit anyway?" Brad snapped.

"Hey! Shut up!" Sam yelled.

"Dude, I can't ga-" he trailed off, before turning to look at Sam, who glared at him.

"Fuck you," she said pointedly to him.

"See, I can't gag her. Not allowed. Sorry." He threw his arms up to illustrate his point.

"Have you guys ever thought about, oh I dunno...not doing it so much?" I asked.

Sam and Freddie looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"That's just crazy talk," Sam stated. She turned to Freddie. "Get me a Peppy Cola." With that, she turned around and retreated to their room, shutting the door behind her.

"Wait, you guys are just gonna stay in your room all night?" I asked, confused. "I thought you were done!"

Freddie just looked at me and laughed, like I didn't know anything. "Yeah, uh...we're just getting started."

"What?" Brad and I yelled.

"But you've been in there for two hours!" Brad stated, and Freddie just shook his head, opening the fridge and taking out some drinks, before turning back to us.

"That was round one."

"Oh come on!" Brad yelled at Freddie, but it fell on deaf ears as Freddie shut the door behind him, and a few minutes later we heard the sound of the bed banging against the wall again.

"You gotta be kidding me," I groaned.

~*Sam*~

"Alright," Freddie laughed. "Stop jumping on the bed, baby."

"But it's fun!" I responded, jumping harder. "And it's fun messing with Carly."

"But we weren't messing with her before," Freddie reminded me, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I know, but I'm messing with her now!" I replied, continuing to bounce. "Come on!"

"She might bust in here and kill us," Freddie replied.

"Nah, she'd be too afraid she'd see something." I finally stopped jumping on the bed, dropping down to my knees and leaning over to kiss Freddie on his cheek. "So, what do you think so far?"

"I'm thinking doing it against that window over there is gonna be fun," he replied with a grin.

"Or with the windows open," I responded with a raise of my eyebrows.

"Then somebody could see," Freddie reminded me, and I shrugged.

"Maybe. But I thought half the fun was getting caught."

"True," Freddie said, before laying back. "I dunno, baby. This could work out great, or it could go badly."

I laid down next to him, laying my head on his shoulder. "Yeah, but that's everything, right?"

"Right," he replied, playing with my hair. "So...you know what happens in two weeks?"

"What's that?"

"Our six month," he replied, turning his head to look at me, and I smiled at him.

"I can't believe we made it six months without killing each other."

"We came pretty close," Freddie commented. "But no. This is just the beginning." He surprised me by flipping me onto my back, coming over me. "We're gonna be together, forever." He kissed me on my forehead. "And ever..." A kiss on my left cheek. "And ever..." He moved to kiss me on my right cheek. "And ever..." Another kiss on my neck. "And ever..." He kissed my lips. He kept doing that, just kissing me all over, and I sighed happily, looking up at the ceiling.

"Baby?" I said.

"Yeah?"

I pointed upwards. "We can put mirrors on the ceiling now."

"Shit," Freddie stated, looking up. "You're right."

"Do you want to?"

Freddie scoffed, grinning at me. "Want to? Uh, we'll go tomorrow and buy some."

"Okay," I replied with a smile, before sitting up. "Well, we should probably go out there and tell Brad and Carly we were just messing with them."

"Or we could just go again, and then we won't just be messing with them," Freddie replied, still laying back.

"Freddie!" I said with a laugh, and then a serious expression crossed my face. "Do you hear that?" I didn't really hear anything, just wanted my husband to get his ass in gear, and he did, sitting up.

"I think Brad's messing with your helicopter again."

Freddie's eyes widened, and he stood up, before going to the door. "Brad! Leave my chopper alone!"

I laughed, falling back onto the bed. He was really gonna give me a hard time when this turned out to be nothing, but I didn't really care. We were gonna have so much fun living in this place.


	84. Chapter 84: In My Life

**A/N: Naughty Lemon Alert! **

**Chapter Eighty Four:  
><strong>**In My Life**

~*Freddie*~

"Sam!" I heard Carly yell from the kitchen.

"What?"

"I told you to stop drinking milk out of the carton!"

"It was just a sip!" Sam replied, shutting the fridge door and whirling around, trying to look innocent.

I rolled my eyes. For the most part, we'd been getting along, but Sam and Carly had been butting heads for days now over cleaning and other domestic matters; Carly with her perfectionism, and Sam with her laid back...lack of cleaning. I was sitting on the couch, messing around with my laptop, but in retrospect, I should have been far away from all of this, hiding somewhere.

"Freddie!" Carly said, turning to look at me. "Back me up here! It's not polite to drink from the milk carton everyone else uses, right?"

"Freddie," Sam said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't you think Carly's overreacting a bit?"

Uh oh. I didn't want to get in the middle of this. I'd learned my lesson the first nine or ten times I'd been put in this situation. Carly would just pout and be passive-aggressive for the rest of the day if I didn't agree with her, and if I didn't agree with Sam...well...I wouldn't be getting any tonight. And let's face it, that's a priority in my life. Still, Carly did have a point. Oh god, what do I do?

"Well?"

"Uh..." I sprang to my feet suddenly. "I just remembered I'm late for something!"

"Late for what?" Sam asked, her hands on her hips as I ran for the door.

"Late for avoiding this conversation!" I replied, grabbing my jacket.

"Freddie!" Sam yelled.

"Love you baby!" I replied before running out the door. Oh man, close call on that one. They'd been arguing over just about everything the last couple of days, and it was driving me nuts. I pulled my phone out to text Brad.

'Carly and Sam are driving me crazy. Can you escape?'

I stood there outside the elevator, waiting for Brad to text me back.

Brad: Yeah, should be fine. Where are we escaping to?

I frowned. Shit, I didn't have any gym clothes. I should probably keep a spare bag in my trunk, specifically to avoid moments like these, but for now I'd have to think of something else.

'IDK. I don't have my gym clothes. I ran away from a milk carton fight.'

Brad: Wuss. We can go shoot pool.

'Sounds good. Meet me in the lobby.'

I took the elevator downstairs and waited for Brad to come down. He did, a moment later, and I smirked a little at his get up.

"Dude," I said. "What's with the beanie? You look like Slim Shady."

"Nothing," Brad replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Nothing?" I replied, before reaching forward and yanking his hat off his head, and my eyes widened. "Holy shit, you caved!"

Brad groaned, running a hand across his freshly shaved head. "He wouldn't shut up about it, man! Ugh, I don't wanna sound like a chick or anything, but do you know how much I loved my hair? It's my..."

"Yeah, your thing, I know," I interrupted. "Carly's gonna freak!"

"No shit," he replied, before snatching his hat out of my hand and pulling it on. "It's friggin' cold, man."

"Alright, whatever, let's just go shoot some pool."

"I'd like to beat my dad over the head with a pool stick," he growled.

"Chill man, hair grows back, remember?"

"Dude, I'm not gonna be able to grow my hair back! I'm Military Boy, remember? This is the end of The Hair. It's gone, and it's gone for good!" he yelled. "God, this sucks!"

"I still can't believe you're going along with this academy crap," I gruffed as we walked to the car. "I mean, it's ridiculous, Brad!"

"I know, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Brad!" I said, glaring at him. "There is plenty you can do about it. You're gonna be eighteen in like two months!"

He shrugged. "I really don't want to talk about this right now," he replied. "Let's just go."

"Alright, one sec," I said as I hopped in the driver's seat and pulled my phone out.

"Apologizing to the little woman?" Brad asked, poking me, and I smacked his hand away, growling. "Whipped!"

"Shut up!" I replied, trying to focus on texting Sam.

'Sorry I had to bounce baby, you guys are stressing me out with all the arguing. Gone to shoot pool with Brad, be back in a few hours. Be nice. Stop drinking from the carton.'

I looked back up at him. "Besides, you're telling me that Carly doesn't have you whipped?"

"Nope," he responded. "We're not like that. She doesn't have me whipped, I don't have her whipped. Neither one of us have to throw our weight around much."

"Well that's good," I replied with a grin. "Because there's not that much weight to throw."

"Dude, I will throw you from the car," Brad said with a roll of his eyes. I just smirked, shaking my head, and then my phone beeped at me, signaling Sam had texted me back.

Sam: Fine. I'll try. Love you.

'I love you too. BTW, bet's back on, you better be naked when I get home.'

Sam: I don't know how comfortable Carly will be with that.

I rolled my eyes.

'In our room, smart ass. Don't mouth off to me, you'll pay for it later.'

Sam: In that case. No. You can't tell me what to do. Jerkface. You suck. Etc, etc, insert other random back talk. Now hurry back and make me pay. :P Love you.

I laughed a little, before putting my phone down and cranking the car up.

"Come on, dude, vamanos!" Brad yelled.

"Have you been watching Dora with the baby again?" I asked, giving him a strange look.

"Don't be a dumb ass!" Brad hollered. "It's from Diego."

"Oh, my god..." I muttered, shaking my head.

~*Sam*~

"Did you get it?" I asked, peering over Carly's shoulder.

"One sec," she responded. "Just trying to convince the printer to make three copies so I don't have to keep hitting the print button over and over."

"Sure you don't wanna make four copies?" I asked, my eyebrows going up, and she sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"What's the point, Sam? We've all tried convincing Brad to let this military academy thing go, but he's not budging! His dad has him brainwashed!" Carly replied, frustrated.

"Yeah, I know. And trust me, that's a really difficult thing to break out of, but we gotta keep trying. Don't you think he'll be much happier at WSU with you and Freddie?"

Carly turned around to look at me, crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you mean, me and Freddie? Don't you mean me and you and Freddie?"

I shrugged. "I still don't know if I'm gonna get in or not. I don't think that one good year and some average SAT score is gonna cancel out the three years of sloth-like behavior from me."

"Speaking of brainwashing!" Carly exclaimed. "Okay, number one, you did NOT get average SAT scores, you scored higher than I did, and I was in the 85th percentile. I mean, shit, you only scored a hundred points lower than Freddie, and that's saying something!"

"I still dunno, Carls. I'm really nervous. And if I don't get in, what am I supposed to do?"

"You WILL get in, but if by some miracle you don't, just go to community college for two years and then transfer! It's not a big deal!"

"But I still don't know what I wanna do!"

"I thought you said Law!"

"I'm not smart enough to be a lawyer, Carly!" I replied, as Carly took a sip of her tea, before spitting it out all over the table.

"Don't do that when I'm drinking something!" she exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? You're like...programmed, designed, born to be a lawyer!"

"How so?"

"You're sneaky, manipulative, and you can talk your way out of any situation! And you can cover up scandal like it's no one business. That is what lawyers do, Sam!"

"Well, what are you gonna do?"

"Broadcast journalism, and minor in acting," she replied with a shrug.

"Minor?" I asked with a horrified expression on my face. "I have minor in something?"

"You don't have to, but it doesn't hurt. You could minor in Linguistics."

I rolled my eyes. "Carly, why the hell would I spend four years of my life studying pasta?"

"What?" Carly responded. "Sam! I said LINGUISTICS! Not linguine! You know, the study of languages? Since you know so many of them?"

"Maybe. I dunno. I probably shouldn't worry about it so much unless I actually get accepted!"

"Uh, you have declare an intended major, Sam," Carly replied. "Okay, it's printing! Yay!"

"Carly, just do four, okay? Just in case."

She looked over at me, biting her bottom lip. "You think?"

"I know! It won't work if you don't try! Just print out the fourth application okay?"

She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Okay, I'll do it. Just, fingers crossed he goes for it, okay?"

"You got it," I replied.

"When are they supposed to be getting back anyway?" Carly asked as she pulled one of the freshly printed applications off the printer and looked over it.

I shrugged. "No idea. But I'm in serious trouble when Freddie does get back."

Carly's eyebrows went up. "What? Why?"

"Shit-talking," I replied with a grin. "He's really gonna let me have it."

Carly shook her head. "Why do you always try to rile him up?"

"Because it's fun. And because the pay-off is HUGE."

"You guys are so weird," Carly replied.

"Carly, come on. Ever had an argument with Brad and then made up afterwards? Make up sex is so hot."

"Brad and I don't really fight that much," she replied with a shrug. "We're pretty low-key."

"Yeah, well, Freddie and I are pretty much the opposite of low-key," I replied. "We're pretty..."

"Uppity?" Carly finished. "Yeah, I know."

I shrugged. "I guess it's because we fought for so long...you know, trying to cover up how we really felt, and then one day...just...BOOM. Like dynamite."

"Well, whatever works for you guys," Carly replied. "Brad and I are fine with being laid-back and low-key."

"Yeah, any day now you guys are gonna start playing bingo instead of getting it on," I teased.

"Sam! We are not! We have a really good relationship, and trust me, there's sparks...they're just not as obvious as you and Freddie. I mean, Brad and I like to keep our private business private, know what I mean? We're not cool with just putting everything out in the open. You guys are total exhibitionists!"

"We are not!" I replied defensively. "We just...we can't keep our hands off each other. We try, but it doesn't work!"

I looked down at my phone as it beeped. "Uh-oh."

"What?"

"Freddie and Brad are on their way up," I responded, heading for the stairs.

"So? Why are you saying uh-oh?"

"Like I said, I'm in trouble," I replied, yanking my hoodie off and running for the bedroom.

"Oh god," Carly said. "How much shit did you talk anyway?"

"Not that much, but he just said I'd better be in our room by the time he got back!"

"Have fun," Carly called sarcastically. "Try to keep the volume down!"

"I'm not making any promises!" I yelled before shutting the door. I started to pull my clothes off, but thought better of it, and just laid down on the bed. If I didn't do what he told me, he'd get even more amped up, and that's what mama liked.

A few minutes later, I heard the door open to our bedroom, and sat up a bit.

"Hey, baby. How was the pool hall?"

"Why are you still dressed, Sam?" Freddie replied, taking his jacket off. I shrugged.

"I dunno."

"But didn't I tell you you'd better be naked?" he replied.

"Mmhmm."

"So you disobeyed me," he stated, with a shake of his head. "Bad girl, baby."

I shrugged again, laying back down, staring at myself in the mirror hanging on our ceiling. Man, those things were fun. "Do something about it."

"Oh, I will," I heard him say. The next thing I heard was the sound of him unbuckling his belt, but I continued to lay still, staring at the ceiling, knowing my nonchalance was beginning to irritate him. I looked up to find him getting on the bed, shirtless, his belt gone, but his jeans still on. I licked my lips a bit. God, he looked so sexy like that.

"Sit up, Sam."

"Nope."

"Baby," he warned. "Don't push me."

"But it's fun to push you," I replied, squealing in surprise a little when he grabbed both of my arms and pulled me up into a sitting position suddenly, before getting behind me.

"I told you to sit up," he said, pushing my hair aside to kiss my neck, his hands going down to the hem of my shirt and pulling it up over my head. He unclasped my bra, pulling it off my arms and tossing it aside, and I sighed as I felt my bare back against his chest. He went back to kissing my neck and I felt him move his hands up my body, rubbing, massaging, and toying with my breasts.

"God, Freddie..." I moaned. "That feels good."

"Yeah?" he replied. "Tell me why I should keep doing it after you refused to listen to me? Even though you still have to do everything I say for seven more weeks."

I didn't speak, the boy had a point. But still, I didn't want him to stop. Yeah, I'll go with that.

"Because I don't want you to stop," I breathed, leaning my head back so I could lick over his neck. "Please don't stop."

He laughed a little, his breath tickling my ear. "Oh I see, you think because you begged just a little bit I'm gonna let this one go?"

Uh-oh, what did that mean? I felt his hands go to the waistband of my pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them.

"Get those off. Underwear too," he said. I did what he asked, getting up on my knees to slide them off and then leaning back against him to slide them off the rest of the way, and his hands went under my knees, pulling my legs open, and I moaned a little as one of his hands started rubbing me, the other one going back to toying with my breasts. Ugh, this felt so damn good.

"Oh god...baby..." I trailed off.

"You like that?" he asked, nibbling on my ear. "Hmm?"

"Yeah, yeah I like it," I whispered. "Don't stop."

"We'll see," he replied. "Hey, baby?"

"Yeah?"

"Look up," he said, lifting my chin up a bit, forcing me to look up at the mirror. Oh. My. God. This was so dirty...and HOT. "Don't look away," he murmured in my ear before biting it, continuing to rub me. I moaned a little, grabbing onto his thighs, my fingers digging in, unable to stop myself from grinding against his hand.

"Freddie," I moaned, one of my arms going up behind me to grab at the back of his head. "Oh my god..."

"You like that, gorgeous?"

"Yes..."

"How about this?" he asked as he slid a finger inside me, and I cried out, jerking a bit.

"God, Freddie...baby...this feels so good...please don't stop...please don't stop..."

"Not gonna stop, baby," he replied, going back to kiss over my neck and shoulders. My other hand grabbed onto his arm as he picked up his pace a little, getting me closer and closer to the edge. It felt so good, I couldn't stop moaning, or grinding against him.

"Baby," I gasped, bucking against his hand. "Baby...oh god...I..."

"You gonna come? Hmm?"

"Yes...yes...oh god, Freddie! Don't stop! Please!"

Freddie didn't respond, just continued to toy with my body mercilessly, and I just moaned helplessly, not caring how loud I was being. It was right there, I was so close...oh god...this felt so good. It was so hot, watching him do this to me. I felt my legs start to shake, and I knew it was game over for me, and in a matter of seconds I went over the edge, digging my nails into his arm.

"Aaaah! Oh, fuck!" I screamed, shuddering against him before collapsing, my eyes closing, trying to catch my breath.

"Did that feel good, baby?" Freddie asked, kissing my neck. I nodded, unable to speak.

"Good," he replied, his hands going to my shoulders and lifting me off him so he could slide out from under me. I didn't even have the strength to sit up, I just laid back, completely out of it. "You better not go to sleep, we're nowhere near done," he said, and I turned my head to see him pulling his jeans and boxers off, before joining me on the bed. I thought he would just get on top of me and slide into me, but he didn't, he just gave me a mischievous grin before throwing my legs over his shoulders, licking over me. I was still so sensitive, I cried out and tried to move away, but he just grabbed my hips, pulling me back. I looked up again, and I swear I almost exploded then and there. The sight of Freddie's head between my legs, now THAT was hot. But god, I was still SO sensitive! It was too much!

"Baby," I whined. "Stop!"

He lifted his head just for a second to look at me. "Nope," he replied before going back to running his tongue over me, moving in slow circles over my most sensitive spot, his hands continuing to grip my hips and hold me in place.

"Oh god..." I moaned helplessly. "Aaah! Baby...it's too much!"

He didn't respond, and I swear it felt like he'd picked up his pace and applied more pressure. I started shaking again, and he began doing the flick-twist thing with his tongue again, the thing that drove me crazier than anything. Oh god, I definitely should have done what he said, I am such a dead woman now. He brought his forearm across my pelvis so I couldn't wriggle away and then slid two fingers inside me, and I thought I was going to jump out of my skin. I was still way too sensitive for this, but oh my god, it felt so good...but it was too much all at the same time. The most exquisite torture in the entire universe. Looking up at the mirror, that was probably making it worse, but god, I just couldn't look away.

"Baby!" I whined, my back arching against my will. "Oh god...I...Freddie..." I panted, feeling myself getting close again. Oh man, just a few more moments, possibly even a few more seconds, I was going to explode all over again. My hands tangled through Freddie's hair, and I couldn't stop myself from grinding my hips into his face.

"Shit...shit...baby...oh god. Freddie! I...AAAAAHHHHH!" I screamed. "Oh, fuck!"

Freddie lifted his head to stare at me as I climaxed all over again, but continued to move his fingers in and out of me.

"Yeah, baby, there you go...damn, you're so sexy..."

I couldn't even respond. I was completely gone, but not too gone to protest with a series of whines and moans when I felt his mouth on me again.

"Freddie! Please, baby...oh god...please stop...it's too much...fuck!"

BANG BANG BANG. Freddie lifted his head suddenly when he heard the loud banging on the wall, rolling his eyes and getting off the bed, opening the door and sticking his head out.

"I dunno who's doing that, but knock it the hell off!" he slammed the door shut again and turned back around to look at me, frowning when he saw that I'd sat back up. "Lay back down."

I shook my head slowly. "No."

"No?" he replied with a surprised expression on his face, before smirking. "You sure you wanna do that?"

I nodded. "Pretty damn sure."

His eyebrows went up a little, as if to say 'Challenge Accepted'. "Okay, if you're sure. But it's gonna be a hell of a lot worse now."

"Try me," I replied. He gave me a sweet smile that belied his intentions, before getting on the bed, moving toward me, but I suddenly moved forward, my hands moving to his shoulders and pushing him onto his back before straddling him, lining my hips up perfectly so he slid right into me, and he gasped in surprise.

"Jesus, Sam!" he groaned, his hands going to my hips, but I grabbed his wrists, slamming them down above his head.

"Two can play that game, asshole," I growled, leaning down to bite his neck. Then I pulled a trick out of the book I'd never used before, but I'd read about a little. Freddie wasn't the only one who went on the internet looking for sex tips, I'd just never pulled this out of the arsenal before. I continued licking, sucking, and biting on his neck as I suddenly tightened my muscles around him, and he gasped.

"Fuck!" he moaned. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"Here and there," I replied, repeating the same process. "And now you're fucked. Don't even think about trying to take control back from me." I started moving up and down on him, making slow figure 8's with my hips, and he groaned helplessly, trying to free his wrists, but it wasn't happening, I was way too fired up.

"Look up, baby," I taunted, and he did, moaning again.

"Shit," he said, continuing to moan. "That's so hot."

"Isn't it?" I replied, moving up to lick his earlobe. "How does this feel?" I tightened my muscles around him, and I felt his hips jerk up.

"Damn, baby...that's a good trick..." he groaned.

"You like it?"

"Fuck yeah, I like it," he replied. "Let go of my arms and I'll show you how much I like it."

I shook my head, before kissing him passionately, picking up the pace I was slamming down onto him. "I don't think so."

"Damn, baby," he said. "You're killing me."

I shrugged, moving even faster. "Payback's a bitch, huh?"

In no time at all I had him right where I wanted him, back arching, hips lifting up, his eyes rolling back into his head. God, he looked so sexy like that, and I felt like I just wanted to let go and climax again, but I had to keep my head on straight. I bit my lip, stifling a moan, and ground my hips against him, trying to let him go even deeper.

"Fuck...baby...I'm so fucking close," he grunted, breathing heavily. "Don't stop..."

"Yeah?" I replied, slamming down on him hard. "You gonna come now?"

"Yeah..." he moaned, twisting his wrists a bit trying to get free. Freddie may be stronger than me, but that's only until he pisses me off, then adrenaline takes over, and then he's fucked. This was one of those times. "Fuck, baby...I...Sam..."

"Did someone just knock at the door?" I asked suddenly, lifting off of him and getting off the bed. He stared at the ceiling for a second in disbelief, before turning his head to look at me.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

I shrugged. "Next time I tell you to stop, it's too much, you better stop, cuz it's too much!"

"Sam," he warned, sitting up. "That's fucked up. Get your ass over here and finish what you started!"

"What if I don't?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

He just gaped at me. He knew he couldn't really threaten me with anything, and I knew it too. He suddenly stood up, and I squealed in surprise as he picked me up, slamming me into the door. Oh damn, yes! I loved when he lost it like this! He grabbed my legs, wrapping them around his waist, before thrusting into me.

"You are such a bad girl," he growled, licking my neck, and I moaned.

"You love it," I reminded him, gripping his shoulders tightly.

"You're right, I do," he responded before grabbing me by the back of the head and kissing me fiercely. "But don't do that shit again. That was fucked up."

"Yeah, you're right," I replied, moaning again as he slammed into me even harder than before. Oh god, I loved when he got riled up like this! This was so fucking hot!

"Hope you didn't have anything planned for the rest of the night," he warned me as he suddenly withdrew, before tossing me onto the bed. "Because now you started something. Your ass is mine now!"

"Good," I replied. "Come and get me, baby."

He didn't respond, just let out a growl before advancing towards me, coming over top of me and kissing me fiercely.

~*Carly*~

"Baby, I can't believe you cut your hair!" I exclaimed as I ran my hand over Brad's newly shaved head again. "I mean, it was your thing!"

"Yeah, I know," Brad grumbled. "This is such bullshit!"

Brad and I were laying in bed together, just cuddling, with our clothes on this time for a change. We'd started out just laying down on the couch, but pretty soon the noise from Sam and Freddie had driven us upstairs. It was okay in my room as long as the door was shut as far as being able to hear them, but it was still annoying. I guess I should be happy for my friends though, that they're that much in love that they still can't get enough of each other. At least they were happy.

I wasn't so sure about Brad though. He'd been incredibly sullen and out of sorts since he'd gotten back from Tacoma. I knew part of it was because his dad had hit him, but it had only been a one-time deal, at least according to Brad. I hoped he was telling me the truth, I didn't want him hurt, and I didn't want him to deal with it by himself and not have anyone to talk to about it. I was trying my hardest to be there for him, and not try to convince him one way or the other, but it wasn't easy.

"I still love you though," I replied, kissing him. "And besides, it feels kinda cool." I rubbed my hand over his head again.

"What, my head?"

"Yeah! It feels kinda fuzzy."

"Ugh," Brad moaned. "I don't wanna be fuzzy! I had perfect hair! I mean it was absolutely perfect!"

"Baby, there's a lot more to you than perfect hair!" I replied. "And it puts the focus on your eyes. You have really sexy eyes, you know that?"

"Yeah?" Brad replied, propping up on his elbow to look at me. "What else?"

"Really?" I said, giving him a Look, but he just shrugged, grinning a bit.

"Boost my ego, Carly."

"Fine," I said with a roll of my eyes, smirking a bit. "Your abs are just amazing. No fat on you at all. And your lips. I love your mouth," I said, kissing him to demonstrate. "And you have got SUCH a cute butt."

"Not as cute as your butt," he replied, reaching around me to squeeze it, making me giggle.

"I'm in love with you for a lot more than your hair, baby. You're sweet, and smart, and funny, and you don't let me act too serious. And you always make me feel better. I love you, Brad."

"I love you too, babe." He laid back again, bringing me down with him, and we were silent for a few moments.

"So, I printed out the applications for WSU today," I commented.

"Yeah?" he asked, playing with my hair.

"Yeah," I replied. I paused. "Brad, are you sure you're still gonna go through with this military academy thing? I mean, you could..."

"Carly!" Brad groaned. "Seriously? Do we have to talk about this every damn day! I get it from you, from Freddie, even from Sam! I can't go against my dad, we've been over this!"

"But, Brad..."

He sat up suddenly. "I said I don't wanna talk about it, okay? God, you guys bitch and complain about my dad always telling me what to do, but you guys constantly telling me to go against my father, it's the same thing! I can't even have fun anymore, everyone always on my ass about my future! I'm not even fucking eighteen yet!"

I frowned. "But, Brad..."

"And I mean, are you even really thinking about MY future with this whole thing, or do you just not want me to leave? Because there's a difference!"

"I just want you to be happy, Brad!" I replied.

"And do you think turning my back on my family is going to make me happy, Carly? Do you? No! It's not! It's gonna fucking kill me! Yeah, my dad's batshit crazy! But that doesn't make me love him any less! Or my mom! Or Heather! Or Bryson! Or Leah! They're my fucking FAMILY, Carly! I can't just turn my back on them!"

"Baby, I..."

"No! I'm calling bullshit! This has NOTHING to do with my future, or wanting me to be happy, this is all about YOU wanting to be happy! If you really loved me, you wouldn't keep asking me to do this! Every single day! You guys won't even give me TIME to think about it! Everyone just keeps shoving their opinions down my throat, without asking me MY opinion! I haven't even had time to form my own opinion, because I'm too busy processing yours!" He got off the bed, standing up.

"Where are you going?" I cried, looking at him in disbelief.

"Look, I gotta go for a walk or something, clear my head. I'm sorry. I really don't want this to get any worse, okay? I'll call you later. I love you, babe." He leaned forward to kiss me on my forehead. "But please don't push me anymore."

"Brad, wait!"

"I'm serious, Carly! I just need some time alone to think about this! I'm never alone! I never get time to think things through! I don't think, I just do. It's gotta stop. I'll call you."

"Brad!" I yelled. But it fell on deaf ears, and moments later, I heard the front door slam shut.

I sighed, falling back on my bed and staring at the ceiling.

God, this was horrible! Now Brad was mad at me! But he had a point. I hadn't taken the time to ask Brad what he really wanted, I'd just started hounding him about what I wanted. Great job, Shay!

I had to apologize, but first I had to give him some space. I stuck my head in the hallway to listen for a second, groaning in frustration when I realized Sam and Freddie were STILL going at it, and flung myself on my bed, hoping I hadn't screwed up things with Brad for good.


	85. Chapter 85: Every Little Thing

**A/N: Kind of a short chapter. Just to let you guys know, this story's gonna be wrapping up soon! I'm planning on doing the sequel as long as there's enough interest, so let me know if you'll actually read a sequel or not!**

**Chapter Eighty Five:  
><strong>**Every Little Thing**

~*Sam*~

"Baby, wake up," I heard Freddie murmur in my ear, and I squirmed in my sleep, rolling over so my face was in the pillow and yanking the blankets over my head, groaning. Freddie laughed a little bit, and he pulled the covers back down, kissing the exposed bits of my skin. "Baby...come on. Wake up for your husband who loves you so much."

"Aaargghhh..." I groaned. "Baby, it's too early." I cracked one eye open to peer at the clock. Ugh, 7 AM! Seriously? "Go to sleep!"

"Nope," he replied. "You better get up, or I'm gonna tickle you."

"Give one good reason why A, I should get up, and B, I shouldn't beat you when I do get up!"

"Oh I dunno, maybe because I want you to get up."

"Why? It's not even eight," I whined. "Why on earth would you want me to wake up this early? I thought you loved me."

"So I can tell you happy six month, babydoll."

My eyes popped open, and I rolled over onto my back. "It's today?"

"Mmhmm," Freddie responded, leaning down to kiss me. "As of today, we've been married exactly six months. Half a year."

"Awww!" I said, my arms going around him to pull him down to me. "I love you!"

"I love you too, baby. Now get up!" he replied, kissing me on my neck and pulling away. "Go take your sexy ass to the shower, we have plans."

"Plans?" I asked, sitting up.

"Yup. First we'll go get breakfast."

"Where?" I asked.

"International House of Waffles, your fave breakfast spot."

"Yay!" I said, but I frowned. "But wait. Do they have sugar-free stuff?"

"Yes, baby," Freddie replied with a laugh. "It's fine."

"Okay," I replied. "And what else?"

"It's a surprise! Don't be so nosy, baby," Freddie replied, kissing me on my nose.

"It's not nosy! I just wanna know what we're up to!"

"Well, we'll have fun, promise."

"Okay!" I replied, getting out of bed and bounding over to the bathroom, stopping in my tracks suddenly and turning around, staring at Freddie.

"What?" he asked.

"You coming?" I asked, before ripping my shirt off over my head and throwing it at him, doing the same with my bra, before walking into the bathroom.

"Oh yeah," I heard him say, and a moment later, he shut the door behind me, pulling me to him and kissing me passionately, yanking down my shorts, before pulling away and turning the shower on. "Get in," he said. I waited a moment for the water to heat up before stepping in, turning around to look at him.

"Aren't you getting in?"

"One second," he responded, before walking out of the bathroom and returning a moment later with his phone. "Always wanted to get a few pictures of this."

"What?"

"You in the shower, with your hair all wet and water running down your body," he replied. "You look so fucking hot like that."

I gave him a sexy smile. "How do you want me?"

He laughed, shaking his head a bit. "That's a loaded question if I ever heard one. But, lean back against the wall a little bit. Arms over your head, arch your back."

"Like this?"

He groaned a little. "You are so incredibly sexy, you know that, baby?"

"You make me feel sexy," I replied, holding still so he could take a picture. I loved taking pictures for him, it made me feel hot, and there was something so naughty about it at the same time. "Now what?"

"Turn around, stick that sexy ass out, and look over your shoulder." I did what he asked, and he just shook his head. "I swear to god. I don't even deserve a chick this hot..."

"Yes you do," I replied. "Now put down that stupid phone and get those clothes off, then get your butt in here."

"K," he replied, putting the phone on the counter and undressing, before stepping in the shower with me, pulling the curtain shut and then pressing against me, kissing me passionately.

Oh man, today was going to be a good day.

~*Carly*~

I was in SUCH a bad mood today.

I'd made up with Brad a few days ago over the argument we'd had, but it was still messing with my head. It was our first argument, and I was worried if I screwed up again, he'd just call it quits. Part of me wanted to overcompensate, but Sam and Freddie both had emphatically told me it was a Bad Idea. Overcompensating led to annoyance, according to the two of them, and that was the last thing I wanted. It was so weird taking relationship advice from Sam and Freddie, but the two of them had definitely had some knock-down, drag-out fights, and seemed to come out stronger on the other side. Not only that, but I'd never seen two people more in love than my two best friends. Some people could argue that it was just young love, new love, etc...but anyone who knew the two of them could tell it was more than that, way more. They seemed like pretty good people to take advice from.

I was also dying with anticipation about getting into WSU. Sam, Freddie, and I had submitted our applications, but we were still waiting to hear back. I only wanted to go WSU-Seattle, I didn't want to go anywhere else. I especially didn't want to stay in any dorms, I wanted to stay right where I was. It just sucked that Brad wasn't going to be with me. I'd given up on convincing him to stay. He was right, it wasn't my place to tell him what to do with his life. I just wanted him to be happy, but it seemed like either option, going to the military academy or going against his father's wishes, would make him absolutely miserable. It was heart-breaking, because Brad was an amazing person, and didn't deserve to be miserable. Still, I was done trying to tell him what to do with his life. I was just going to miss him so much.

But all this stuff was really weighing heavily on me, that and the fact that Spencer and April's wedding was exactly one month away. Bye bye, big brother. I loved April, and I was excited about being an aunt, but still, I'd had my brother all to myself for a long time, and now everything was going to change. I hated change.

They'd asked me to be a bridesmaid, and today after school I'd have to go get fitted for my dress, something I wasn't exactly looking forward to. I'd been trying to cover it up around Brad and my friends, but was still pretty self-conscious about my uber-skinny body. I didn't care what April said about being a late bloomer, there was no way I'd grow up and have a bod like hers. It just wasn't possible.

Ugh, I just had SO much on my plate right now! The show, Brad's situation, my anorexic-looking body, the wedding, waiting for my college application results. I was barely getting any sleep because I was so stressed out. I wasn't even able to pay attention in class, which was a bad thing. Even if I got accepted to WSU-Seattle, if I flunked out of my senior year, I still wouldn't be going!

I breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang, and I rushed out of class into the hallway, looking for Brad. He came walking down the hall a moment later, and I gave him a little wave, leaning against the locker.

"Hey, babe," he said, giving me a kiss.

"Hey," I said.

"How goes it?"

"Eh," I replied. "It goes."

Brad raised one eyebrow at me. "Okay. What's up with you? You seem a little...morose."

I shrugged. "I'm tired."

"Sam and Freddie not letting you get any sleep?" Brad asked. "I can talk to Freddie if you want."

I shook my head. "It's not that. I just have a lot on my plate right now. Waiting to hear back from WSU. And today I have to go get fitted for my bridesmaid dress. I swear, April better not try to put me in yellow! I look horrible in yellow!"

"Aw, babe, come on, you'd look good in a burlap sack!" he replied, his arms going around me. "And don't worry about WSU, they'd be an idiot to not accept you, especially with you going after Broadcast Journalism, you're the host of one of the most popular webshows on the internet!"

"Well, let's hope the bridesmaid dress is not a burlap sack," I said with a small smile. "And I can't help but be nervous. It's nerve-wracking, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. You need me to drive you over there?"

"Um...no, it's fine. You don't have to." Like I wanted Brad to actually know my measurements! My breasts, waist, and hips would probably be all the same size!

"But I don't mind. And it's not like I have anything to do, Freddie's unavailable for the day."

"Oh, right. Their six month," I replied. "They're so cute."

"You know, OUR six month is coming up," Brad said, poking me. "We've been together almost as long as they have!"

"I know," I replied with a smile, kissing him. "Too bad we can't take a day off from school for that one."

"We can't?" Brad replied with a sly grin, and I shrugged.

"Wouldn't it upset your dad?"

"What my dad doesn't know, won't hurt him. Besides, the old man owes me, I'm still in mourning over my hair!"

"Alright, whatever," I replied with a laugh. "If you wanna take me, that's fine. I have to be there pretty much right after school though, okay?"

"Not a problem, babe," Brad replied, kissing me on my forehead. "I've gotta go, gotta get to class, but I'll see you after, okay?"

"Yep," I replied.

I watched him walk away, leaning against the locker. I was trying not to freak out, but it was just so hard!

~*Freddie*~

"I still can't believe there was a PIG festival, in Seattle, on the same day as our six month. What are the chances of that?" I asked Sam as I drove down the road.

I couldn't believe my luck in stumbling across that thing, and Sam was absolutely ecstatic at the idea of going to a festival based around nothing but pork. I'd never seen her eat so much in my life, and for her, that was saying something. I didn't know how she managed to do it, I guess it was good genes, but the girl regularly stuffed her face and never gained weight, and other than our very active bedroom activities, she didn't get much exercise either.

"That's how I know there's a God," she replied with a grin, and I laughed, my hand going to her leg and squeezing a bit.

"So did you have fun?"

"Mmhmm. Perfect day. With the perfect guy," Sam responded, her head leaning back in her seat. "But that was only for me...what about you?"

I didn't respond, just smirked a little, keeping my eyes on the road.

"Besides that!" she said with a laugh, poking me. I shrugged, I didn't need much to keep me happy, as long as Sam was around.

"Oh, I dunno, just being with you is enough for me, baby," I replied.

"You're so sweet," she responded. "But we're together all the time."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," I said. "I love you, I don't like being away from you."

"You don't ever get tired of me?" she replied, and I shrugged.

"Well, maybe a little," I teased her. "But I do get that nice break in the middle of the night when you pass out."

"Freddie!" she exclaimed, smacking me on the arm. "That wasn't very nice!"

I shrugged. "Well, that has it perks too."

"What perks?"

"I get to hold you in my arms all night," I replied.

"Aww. I love you," she said. "You're so...oh my god! Stop!" She yelled suddenly, startling on me, and I slammed on brakes a little.

"What? Why?" I responded, a little irked. "I told you not to do that when I'm driving!"

"Turn around!" she responded. "Actually, don't, that'll just waste time, just park on the side of the road!"

"Sam! What are you up to?" I asked as I pulled up next to a parking meter. She ignored me, pawing through her bag. "Sam?"

"Please let it be in here, please let it be in here...A-HA!" She shouted triumphantly, holding something up.

"Why do you have your fake ID still?" I asked. "I thought you got rid of that thing! You said you were gonna get rid of it! You know, so you wouldn't be tempted to keep breaking the law?"

"Freddie, hush!" she replied. "This is important! Get out!"

"Why? What are we doing? We're not going into a bar, Sam! I can't drink anyway, you know that!"

"We are not going into a bar, nub!" she replied as we both got out the car. I walked to the sidewalk, putting a quarter in the meter, and she grabbed my arm, pointing. "THAT'S where we're going!"

"What?" I looked at her like she was nuts. "A tattoo shop?"

"Mmhmm," she replied, dragging me toward the building. "Come on!"

I gaped at her. "You must be kidding. I'd rather get a root canal than a tattoo."

"Not you, baby, ME!"

"Sam! No! I don't want you to get a tattoo! That'd be like putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa!" I argued, but she just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, Freddie! I want a tattoo!"

"No!" I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"But baby," she replied, taking a step toward me, grabbing my arms and wrapping them around her. "I want it."

"Sam..." I sighed, trying to hold onto my resolve as she nuzzled her face against my neck, kissing me there.

"Baby..." she whispered. "Don't fight me on this. It's my body."

"But..." I argued. Okay, how could I approach THAT? She had a point, it WAS her body...but she was MY wife, and I didn't want her to have a tattoo!

"I promise you'll like it," she whispered in my ear, pressing against me.

"You can get hepatitis from those needles you know. And then I'll get hepatitis. And I am not a fan of hepatitis."

"They take precautions against that stuff now. Individually packaged needles and everything. Come on, please?"

I shook my head. "I don't like it, Sam. I don't want you to have a tattoo!"

"But..." she trailed off, and I saw her eyes light up, like she had an idea. Uh oh. She gave me a sexy smile, before kissing my neck, moving up to my ear. "I'll do that thing you like," she said huskily.

Oh man. That was a tough call, but still. "Sam...tattoos last forever."

"I'll do that thing you like every day for a week."

Ugh, getting harder to resist! "Sam..." I whined a little, trying to focus on anything other than the feel of her mouth on my earlobe.

"I'll do that thing you like every day for a MONTH," she stated, and then brought her hand down to grab my package. I groaned a little. Damn hormones, always getting the better of me.

"Okay, fine..." I grunted. "Just tell me it's not going to be some big huge obnoxious tattoo!"

She shook her head. "It won't be. It'll be small. And somewhere that's not easy to see. But I want it. Bad. Sure you don't want one too?"

I snorted, shaking my head fervently. "No thanks. I'm still emotionally scarred over that bet from a few years back."

"You're such a baby," she replied with a roll of her eyes, grabbing my hand and jerking me towards the tattoo shop. "Come on!"

~*Brad*~

"Twenty bucks says Freddie and Sam are locked in their bedroom, doing it!" Carly exclaimed as we stepped off the elevator, heading for her apartment.

I shrugged. "Fifty says they're doing in on the couch."

"Oh, ew!" Carly responded, covering her face with her hand. "I specifically told them NOT on my couch or my counters! Hurry up!"

I grinned a little, it was so fun messing with my girlfriend, but there was a definite chance they'd be on the couch, or somewhere in the apartment, having sex. Still, even dealing with that would be better than the ridiculous afternoon I'd spent at the bridal shop with Carly. She didn't want to be there anymore than I did, and April was very, very picky about bridesmaid dresses. Carly had practically dragged me out of there after they'd finally picked a dress for her. I had to admit though, she did look gorgeous in the dress they'd picked out. She looked gorgeous in everything, I just wished she realized that. She thought she was being so sneaky covering up her body issues, but the fact that the padding on her bras kept getting bigger, and her choice of clothing was getting slightly baggier, wasn't lost on me. I wish she'd just get over it and throw on something form-fitting; I loved her body, but no amount of telling her that would convince her, she had to get over this stuff in her own time.

Carly stuck her key in the door, turning the knob and sticking her head in the door, before letting out a squeak and shutting it again. "Oh my god, they ARE on my couch!"

I moved her aside to look for myself, rolling my eyes a bit. "Carly, they're asleep! And fully clothed!"

"Oh," Carly said, looking sheepish. "Okay." She walked in, setting her bag down, eyeing Sam and Freddie critically, looking for signs or clues they'd been doing it on her couch, but it didn't look like it. The TV was still on, it looked to me like they'd just passed out.

They did look kind of cute, even I had to admit that, sprawled out across the couch, Sam laying on top of Freddie with her head tucked under his chin, Freddie's hand resting on her back. They were both completely out of it.

"Should we wake them up, or..." Carly asked, and I shrugged, before kicking Freddie's foot.

"Yo dude, get up."

"Huh?" Freddie said, jerking out of his sleep, opening his eyes. "Oh, hey. When'd you guys get here?"

"Just now. Busy day?"

"A little," Freddie replied with a shrug, before rubbing Sam's back. "Get up, baby."

"Nope," she replied, hiding her face in his neck. "Donwanna."

"Baby, come on. We're hogging the couch."

Sam sighed, finally lifting herself off Freddie. "Fine," she grumbled, before brightening up. "Hey, guess what! I got a tattoo!"

"WHAT?" Carly cried. "Where?"

"Right here," Sam replied, lifting her hair up and turning around. "On the back of my neck."

"What the hell is that?" I asked. It was small, at the base of her hairline, just a simple black one, but it looked like some sort of code.

".MMXI. It's roman numerals for July 14th, 2011," she replied. "Me and Freddie's anniversary."

"It's cute," Carly said. "I like it. And it's not even obvious!"

"Nope," Sam replied. "But I know it's there, and so does Freddie."

"I can't believe you actually let her get a tattoo, Freddie," Carly commented, and Freddie shrugged.

"It's her body. And...we bargained for it."

"Bargained?" Carly asked. "How?"

"Oh, you know," Freddie said with a shrug, before standing up and grabbing Sam's arm, jerking her towards the bedroom. "Come on baby, time to pay up."

"Now?" she replied, and he nodded.

"Yes, now. That was the deal. Time for you to do that thing I like."

"What thing?" I asked, and Freddie just shrugged.

"Just a thing."

"Wait, this sounds worrying," Carly said. "What thing?"

I gave them a strange look. "Please tell me it's not..." my eyebrows went up, and Sam gave me a horrified look.

"No! God no! We hate that!"

"Hate what? Why do I never know what's going on?" Carly cried. I rolled my eyes, before leaning over and whispering in her ear, and her eyes widened.

"Ew! You've done that?" she screeched, and Sam and Freddie shrugged.

"Yeah, not our thing," Sam replied.

"And not THE thing either, so come on Sam," Freddie said, grabbing her arm.

"Wait, you still haven't told me what the thing is!" Carly cried.

"Oh, it's a fun thing," Freddie responded. "Later."

"Oh my god, what things are they doing in there?" Carly asked me, and I shook my head.

"No idea, but there's some things I'd like to do, so come on, sexy..." I grabbed her arm and began leading her upstairs.


	86. Chapter 86: That Means A Lot

**A/N: I really wanted to get this up by tonight because I'm gonna be super busy tomorrow! Also, I know I have a lot of reviews, but that still doesn't mean I don't like getting new ones, hint hint! Just so I'm sure I'm still reaching an audience, you guys still like my work, etc. etc...and if you guys could just let me know if you'd be interested in a sequel, that'd be great too, because there's only a few more chapters left!**

**Chapter Eighty Six:  
><strong>**That Means A Lot**

~*Carly*~

I flung my apartment door open and ran in, dropping my bag on the floor, barely able to contain my nerves. Without even thinking things through, I ran to Freddie and Sam's room, jerking the door open.

"You guys! They're here!" I screamed, and then my hands went to my mouth in shock at the sight of Sam on top of Freddie. Luckily her back was to me, but it was very, very obvious that they were both naked.

"Jesus, Carly!" Freddie yelled, yanking Sam down and throwing the sheet over both of them. "What did we tell you about knocking?"

"It's three in the afternoon, you guys!" I responded, my hands on my hips.

"So?" Sam replied. "Freddie doesn't magically get sexier when the sun goes down! I can NEVER keep my hands off him!"

"Okay, whatever," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "Get dressed."

"How about you get out?" Freddie growled, and I made a face. Freddie sure did get cranky when he got interrupted, but I wasn't in the mood to put up with it today!

"Is that any way to talk to the person holding your very futures in her hands?" I replied, holding up the three envelopes from WSU. "Guess what just came in the mail!"

"Shit," Sam and Freddie both said, looking at each other.

"Alright, give us a minute."

"A minute to get dressed, not a minute to finish!" I responded, before shutting the door. I rolled my eyes as I heard them grumbling about it being impossible to finish in only a minute.

It seemed like this had been the longest month of my life, waiting for those letters to show up. I couldn't believe it was already February, that Valentine's Day was three days away, and even more important, Spencer and April's WEDDING was also three days away. It was a little annoying that they'd sucked up half a day of the most romantic day of the year, but Brad promised me we'd do something afterwards, just the two of us. I suspected Freddie and Sam would be holed up in their bedroom the entire Valentine's Day. I would be sincerely impressed if they even managed to make it to the wedding, even more if they made it through the entire ceremony and reception without running away to do it.

The door opened a few seconds later and Sam and Freddie came out, fully dressed, and they plopped down on the couch.

"Here you go," I said, handing them their envelopes.

"Have you opened yours yet?" Sam asked, and I shook my head.

"I'm a little afraid to," I responded, and Sam made a face.

"If you're afraid, then I may as well not even bother," she sighed, before setting the envelope on the table.

"Baby!" Freddie said. "Come on, don't be like that."

"I can't help it, I'm really worried about this," Sam replied.

"You want me to do it for you?" he asked, and she nodded, handing it to him. He stared at his application, not moving.

"You want me to open yours?" Sam asked.

"Uh-huh," he replied, handing her his application.

"Okay," I said. "Let's just...count of three, right?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. "One..."

"Two..." Freddie said, taking a deep breath.

I stared at them for a second, trying to calm my nerves. "THREE!"

We all ripped open the envelopes we were holding, and I yanked the letter out, reading over it.

"Dear Carly Shay," I read. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been ACCEPTED to Washington State University, Seattle...OH MY GOD!" I squealed. "I got in!" I bounced up and down happily. "I'm going! Oh my god!"

"You got in, baby," Sam said with a smile, leaning over to kiss her husband. "But no school in their right mind would turn you down...now, go ahead and read my rejection letter so we can all move on!"

Freddie rolled his eyes, before reading the letter.

"Dear Samantha Benson, we regret to inform you..."

Sam groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I knew it!"

"...that your self-deprecation will no longer be tolerated, and you are no longer allowed to think of yourself as a failure," Freddie finished, looking at her, before thrusting the paper into her hands. "Look, baby! You got in!"

"I DID?" Sam asked in disbelief, before reading over the letter and squealing. "Oh my god! I DID!" Her hands flew to her face, and I saw her eyes water a bit, before she stood up suddenly and walked behind the counter, leaning against it, her back to us. I could hear her crying, and Freddie and I looked at each other worriedly, before rising to our feet.

"Baby?" Freddie asked, rushing over to her. "What's wrong? Why are you crying? You're supposed to be happy!"

"I...I..." Sam choked out, but she was too emotional, she couldn't even get her words out. I had no CLUE what was going on, and by the look on Freddie's face, neither did he. She just threw her arms around Freddie, burying her face in his neck and continuing to cry.

"Baby, talk to me, please!" Freddie said worriedly, stroking her hair. "I can't fix it if you don't tell me what's wrong!"

After a few moments of crying, she finally pulled away, looking at the ground. "No one in my family's ever gone to college," she said, sniffling.

"Oh, baby...it's okay!" Freddie said, kissing her on her forehead. "It's alright, you don't need to be upset about this!"

She shook her head. "Everybody always told me I'd never amount to anything...that I was NOTHING!" she cried. "And...I...I actually managed to get into college? Are you kidding me? This has gotta be a joke or something!"

Freddie shook his head fervently. "It's not a joke. And you are NOT nothing. You never have been, you never will be. You are EVERYTHING to me."

Sam nodded, still trying to catch her breath. "I really owe all of this to you. If you hadn't pushed me..."

Freddie cut her off by kissing her. "Nope. I still needed something to push. All the pushing in the world wouldn't have mattered if you weren't capable of it. This is all you, baby."

"I love you," Sam said, hugging him, and Freddie kissed her on the side of her neck, holding her tight.

"Love you too, baby."

Aw, they were so sweet, and I was happy Sam finally had SOMETHING to be proud of, but I just wished I could be excited about starting a new chapter in my life with Brad. He'd be going to the other side of the country. I was going to be the third wheel again.

But still, it was better having Sam and Freddie in my life than nothing at all.

"Guys!" I shouted, trying to lift my mood a bit. I had no business being sad, I'd just gotten into college! "We just got into WSU!"

"WHOOOOO!" Sam yelled, doing her happy dance.

"And now four more years of academics," I reminded her, and she groaned.

"Aww..." she said.

Freddie poked her. "Technically, eight years for you, if you're gonna take this whole Law thing seriously."

"Aw, man...can't I just go back to being an underachiever?" she asked.

"NO!" Freddie and I yelled, and Sam just grumbled to herself, like she always did, but I could tell she was happy nonetheless.

"I gotta call Brad, he should be back from the doctor by now," I said, going to get my phone.

"Why is he at the doctor?"

"Pre-academy physical," I replied with a shrug.

"Okay," Freddie replied, before grabbing Sam by the arm and pulling her towards the bedroom. "We're gonna finish what we started."

"You guys!" I yelled. "Come on!"

"Nope! We gotta celebrate a little bit!"

"Most people just go out to dinner!" I yelled as they went into their room, and Sam turned to look at me, grinning.

"Oh, there'll be eating," Sam said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, before squealing when Freddie's arm went around her waist and he yanked her into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"What'd I tell you about that?" I heard him say through the door, and rolled my eyes, before calling Brad.

~*Brad*~

"Bradley!" I heard my mom yell, and I rolled my eyes. Oh great, something ELSE to do. I'd already been to the damn doctor to deal with the stupid physical, I was through with doing things my parents wanted me to do for the day. Babysitting be damned.

Every time I went to the doctor it just put me in a bad mood, even if nothing was wrong. Just getting poked and prodded, especially by a male doctor, just bugged me. And here I was, getting ready to go see Carly and congratulate her on getting into her college of choice, and my parents wanted to get in the way of that! Carly had called half an hour ago, and then within fifteen minutes began firing off texts every five minutes trying to find out where I was. She was freaking out; I didn't want to keep her waiting anymore.

"What?" I barked, sticking my head out the door. "You said I could go see Carly!"

"First of all, watch your tone, mister!" my mom replied, glaring at me. "Secondly, Freddie's here."

"Oh." I said flatly, before walking out of my room. "Sorry." I found Freddie in the living room, sitting on the couch, looking very uncomfortable as my sister sat next to him, staring at him with googly eyes. The girl had such a massive crush on Freddie, it was ridiculous.

"So are you sure you're happy with Sam?" Heather asked, and Freddie rolled his eyes.

"Yes, very happy," he replied, scooting away from her, and she just moved closer to him.

"I'm the most popular girl in sixth grade. All the boys like me."

"Awesome," Freddie said, scooting away again. Heather moved even closer. I decided to stay out of sight for a second and watch this, I really got a kick out of how uncomfortable my little sister made my best friend.

"I'd make a really good girlfriend, you know," she cooed, batting her eyelashes.

"You're eleven," he reminded her, and she rolled her eyes.

"I just turned twelve, for your information."

"Maybe you'd like a nice twelve year old boyfriend." Scoot, scoot.

"I like older men," Heather said pointedly, and moved closer to him, her legs touching his. He scooted away again, until he hit the arm of the couch, and looked around nervously. Now he had nowhere to go.

"Brad!" he hollered. "Help me!"

"Aw, whatsa matter Casanova?" I cracked as I walked out of the hallway. He just glared at me, before standing up. "I was about to head upstairs anyway, man."

"I know," Freddie replied with a shrug. "I gotta talk to you for a second. Alone," he said pointedly, looking at Heather, who just twirled her hair around her fingers and gazed at him.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, come on," I replied, leading him to my room, where Bryson was laying on the floor, drawing. "Yo, Bry, skidaddle."

"But I'm working!" he argued.

"Dude, go play videogames like a normal eight year old!" I replied. "Dad's getting suspicious."

"Of what?"

I sighed, not wanting to explain to my eight year old brother about homosexuality. "Never mind. Just...do something manly!"

"I don't like manly," he grumbled, standing up. "I just wanna draw."

"Out, little Warhol!" I replied, giving him a push to the door. "You can finish your landscape in a second!"

Bryson rolled his eyes at me. "Shows how much you know, it's an abstract! You're uncultured!"

"You can't even spell uncultured! Now out!"

"Fine," he replied, glaring at me and Freddie, before stalking out the door and slamming the door behind him.

"Wow. Is he always like that?" Freddie asked, and I shrugged.

"He's a tortured artist. What's up?" I flopped down on my bed, looking up at him, and he sat down on the edge of Bryson's bed, looking at me intently.

"Carly tell you we all got into WSU?"

"Yeah, she did! Good job, man!"

"Thanks," Freddie replied. "I mean, I wasn't too worried about it, but Sam went full-on like...breakdown."

"Why? She got in, right?"

"Yeah, and she's in shock. Her damn family really screwed her up, dude!"

"Wow, I have no idea what that's like," I said sarcastically. "So...did you come over here to talk about that?"

"Nope," Freddie replied, before fishing something out of his jacket. "I came over to give you this." He handed me an envelope, and my eyes fixed on the WSU logo...and the fact that it was addressed to Bradley Harrison.

"What is this?"

Freddie shrugged. "Open it and find out."

I eyed him suspiciously, before tearing open the envelope and reading over the letter that was enclosed.

"Dear Bradley Harrison, we are pleased to inform you that you have been ACCEPTED..." I stopped reading, looking at him in confusion. "I didn't apply to WSU."

"No. I applied for you," Freddie replied, and I glared at him.

"Carly put you up to this?"

"Nope. The girls don't know anything about it."

I couldn't help but scoff. "You're telling me that the Queen and Countess of Conspiracy themselves don't know about a plot to convince me to abandon my father, the King of Control's epic decree?"

"Well, those are really good monarchical references dude, but no. They don't. This was me. I had it sent to my mom's so they wouldn't accidentally stumble across it."

"Freddie," I warned. "I told you guys to stay out of it! It's out of my hands!"

"Look man," Freddie replied, his hands going up defensively. "I'm not telling you what to do with your life, I'm not gonna be that guy. I'm just trying to give you some options! Your dad wouldn't let you apply to other places, he basically has you on lock, right?" I nodded, and Freddie continued to speak. "So you had the choice of either going to the academy or having no future at all. But this gives you another choice!"

I just sighed, continuing to stare at the letter, before standing up.

"Thanks, man, but...my mind is pretty much made up. I mean, it's been made up for me, but still. It's made up."

"Just think about it, alright?" Freddie replied. "Seriously. Just think about it. I'm not trying to piss you off. I'm trying to help you out."

"I'll think about it," I responded. "But I think you should probably keep this with you. If my dad sees it, my ass is grass."

"Got it," Freddie said, taking it from me and putting it back in his jacket. "I'm not gonna tell Sam and Carly about this, they'll just try to pressure you into it."

I gave him a Look. "You sure you can keep a secret from the wifey?"

"Yep. I've been keeping a secret about how much I hate that blue shirt she wears all the time for months now," Freddie replied with a grin. I gave him a Look.

"This is a little bit of a bigger deal than a shirt," I stated, and he just stared at me.

"Have you seen that shirt? It's hideous. I swear, one of these days I'm just gonna throw it out and tell her the washing machine ate it."

"But washing machines don't eat clothes," I said, and he shrugged.

"She's never done laundry, so she doesn't know that."

"You're a very sneaky man, Benson," I responded. "Maybe you should consider the military. You could be in like special ops."

Freddie shook his head. "Arguing with Sam is the closest to warfare I ever want to be."

"Well, damn dude, Mussolini couldn't put up with that shit," I replied. "I dunno how you do it."

"I know how to diffuse the situation pretty good," he replied, grinning, and I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, whatever. Anything else?"

"Nope. Wanna go upstairs? Carly's all antsy."

"Sure, I'll calm her ass down," I replied with a shrug, and we both stood up. "Bye mom!"

"Bye, Freddie!" Heather called. "Call me!"

"Dude, you're TWELVE!" I shouted at her. "You are JAILBAIT!"

"I'd be worth the time," she replied, crossing her arms. Freddie gave me a horrified look, and I just shook my head, ushering him out of the apartment.

"That's kinda scary," Freddie commented as we headed to the elevator.

"Yeah, no shit, can you imagine what she's gonna be like when she's our age?" I replied as I hit the elevator button.

"I'm starting to think I don't want any daughters," Freddie grumbled as we stepped on the elevator.

"So Carly's really freaking out about this whole wedding thing," I said, leaning against the wall, and Freddie nodded.

"Oh yeah. I can't believe in three days Spencer's gonna be married. It's kinda unreal," he said.

"Why? You're married."

Freddie shrugged. "Yeah but...Spencer...it just seems odd to me. I can't really picture myself NOT being Sam, and with Spencer it's hard to picture him WITH a wife, not to mention a baby."

"True. Hey, at least you got to skip over that whole ceremony ish and wearing a tux and all that."

"Eh," Freddie said. "I don't think I would have minded all that much. Would have been nice seeing Sam in a wedding dress. Although she did look pretty hot in that wifebeater, and technically she was wearing white..."

"Aw, look at Fweddie-weddie being all nostalgic!" I cooed, pinching his cheeks, and he slapped my hands away, laughing.

"Dude, shut up! I'm just saying!" he replied. "It wouldn't have bothered me."

"Alright, whatever, dude."

"Don't you want to get married?"

"I'm not even eighteen yet, and..." I trailed off when Freddie's eyebrows went up. "Never mind, I'm talking to the wrong person."

"Yup," Freddie said, before stepping off the elevator when the doors opened. "I'm gonna go stash the letter at my mom's, I'll be back in a second."

I watched him walk across the hall to his mom's apartment, and leaned against the wall for a second, sighing. I hadn't questioned the whole military academy much other than to complain about it, because I truly thought I didn't have any other options. My best friend had changed that for me. Now I had a decision to make.

Stay with the girl I loved, and pursue what I really wanted to do, while letting down my entire family and risking ostracization, or do what my family really wanted me to do, risk losing Carly in the process, and letting myself down?

~*Freddie*~

"Oh my GOD, where is Brad?" Carly cried as she paced back and forth nervously. "I was supposed to be at the church TEN MINUTES ago! Spencer is going to kill me!"

"Chill out, Shay!" Sam said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking them. "You're going to sweat all over your dress!"

"I don't care!" Carly responded, wriggling free and going back to pacing. "Out of ALL the days he could have picked to be late!"

"Carly, have you ever thought of getting on anti-anxiety pills?" I stated, leaning my head back against the couch. I felt eyes on me, and I lifted my head to see Carly giving me a death glare.

"Are you calling me crazy?" she snapped, and Sam gave me a Look.

"Now that you mention it..." I grumbled with a roll of my eyes, ducking when she threw her little handbag at me. "Okay, you're not getting this back!"

"Freddie, quit bugging Carly," Sam warned me. "And go get dressed!"

"Fine," I replied, standing up and heading to the bedroom to get ready. Carly was being an absolute basket-case, you'd think this was her wedding, not Spencer's! She didn't need anxiety pills, she needed a tranquilizer dart! I finished pulling my suit on, fiddling with my tie, before walking back out. Sam was still trying to calm Carly down, but she stopped in her tracks when I walked into the living room.

"Holy. Hell." she said, staring at me.

"You like?" I asked, doing a little spin.

"Uh-huh," she said. "I love." She'd seen me in the suit before, the night I'd proposed, but it had been awhile, and I was pleased to see it still had an effect on her. She seemed to forget about Carly, advancing toward me and grabbing my tie, yanking my head down to hers and kissing me fiercely.

"Stop!" Carly yelled. "I so don't need to see this!"

"Carly!" Sam grunted, glaring at her. "Knock it off! Brad will be here, just calm down!"

"I can't!" she responded, before racing over to the counter and picking up her cup of coffee, chugging it, and I rolled my eyes, walking over to her and jerking it out of her hand.

"Nope! You do NOT need any more caffeine, Gary Busey!"

"You're right, I need a shot!"

"I think we still have some alcohol upstairs," Sam said, heading for the stairs, but my hand went up.

"Freeze!" I shouted. "This girl doesn't need anything else that's gonna make her go batty!"

"She's already batty," Sam commented.

"Yeah, I know," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"If he's not here in five minutes, we're leaving!" Carly whined, flopping down onto the couch. "This is a disaster! Bridesmaids are not supposed to be late!"

Just then, the door flung open and Brad skidded in. "Sorry!" he shouted.

"Sup, James Bond?" I greeted him in the sight of his tux. "White?"

"Yeah, well you know," he replied. "I do enjoy looking suave."

"Freddie looks better," Sam replied, grabbing the lapels of my jacket and pulling me to her. I smirked, bending down to kiss her again.

"You look pretty damn good yourself, gorgeous," I replied. "I love this dress on you." It was a short, but not too short gray dress that revealed just a little bit of cleavage, and she wore black heels to go with them, and for the first time I'd ever seen it, her hair was up. Sam's hair drove me crazy, but she looked gorgeous like this, I had to admit.

"You don't think it's too much?" she asked self-consciously, and I shook my head.

"Nah, baby, you look perfect," I replied. "Brad, verdict?"

"She looks good," Brad replied appreciatively. "But not too good," he added hastily, and I shook my head, laughing.

"It's cool. I asked your opinion."

"Oh yeah, well in that case, she looks really hot!"

"Too far!" I replied.

Carly was just glaring at Brad, shaking her head. "You'd better have a damn good explanation, Brad!"

"I'm sorry, Basquiat died!" he responded, referring to his little brother's pet hamster. "Bryson was having a melt-down!"

Sam snorted a little. "Basquiat? You sure your little brother's not a flaming..." she shrunk a little when Brad glared at her evilly. "...child prodigy?"

"Nice save. Besides, you don't have much room to talk with your sister and all," he replied with a roll of his eyes, before turning back to Carly. "I'm sorry, babe. You look really pretty. Happy Valentine's Day."

She just harrumphed a little bit, arms crossed over her chest, a scowl plastered across her face. Brad sighed, stepping toward her.

"Carly, I'm sorry, honey. I was gonna save this until later tonight, but I got you something," he said, pulling a jewelry box out of his jacket.

"You did?" she asked, and he nodded, before opening it.

"Aw, Brad!" she squealed. "You got me a bracelet? It's so pretty!"

"Wanna wear it? It'll go with the dress," he said, and she nodded. He removed the bracelet from its case before wrapping it around her wrist. It was a silver one, with little charms on it.

"Sam, look! It's Juicy Couture!"

Sam wrinkled her nose, before walking over to check it out. "I have no idea what that is, but it's really pretty," she said, before looking up at Brad. "You have good taste in jewelry. Are you sure YOU'RE not a flaming..."

"Sam!" I warned. "Don't question people's sexuality."

Brad just grunted at her. "If I was an exhibitionist like you, I'd throw Carly down on that couch right now and show you how straight I am."

"And I'd just walk Freddie over to those stairs, climb on top of him, and show you up!" she replied. Carly and I just gave each other Looks, annoyed at our significant others' competitive streaks. Sam and Brad were really good friends, but they loved giving each other shit. To outsiders, it would probably look like they hated each other, but it was just banter, and it was pretty funny to watch, but today was not the day for banter.

"Okay, we gotta go!" Carly said. "You guys ready?"

"Yup," I replied. "Baby, get your jacket."

"It's by the door," she said, running into our room to grab her bag. "Are you sure this isn't too much? I feel too dressy in this thing. And my hair..." she touched it self-consciously, but I just grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away.

"Baby, you look great. When we get back I'll show you how great I think you look," I replied.

"Promise?" she responded with a mischievous grin, and I nodded.

"Until you beg me to stop."

"Alright, that's enough!" Brad cut in. "Let's go!"

"Right behind you," I replied, grabbing Sam's coat and helping her put it on.

Ten minutes later, we were at the church, and I was sitting next to Sam, waiting for the ceremony to start. Brad was on the other side of her, and they were really starting to get on my nerves.

"You two knock it off!" I hissed, glaring at Brad and Sam, who were in the process of making paper airplanes out of the wedding programs.

"What?" Sam asked, shrugging. "The ceremony hasn't even started yet!"

"You're lame, Freddie," Brad said, leaning forward to look at me.

"Yeah, Freddie, you're lame," Sam teased me, poking me in the ribs. I jumped a little, letting out a surprised yelp, and slumped down in my seat as people turned around in their seats to glare at us. I gave a glare of my own to Sam and Brad, who just rolled their eyes.

"You got us in trouble, Freddie!" Sam said.

"Yeah, Freddie, you got us in trouble!" Brad added. I just growled under my breath, crossing my arms, before looking over at them.

"I'm going to punch you," I told Brad, before looking at Sam. "And you're in big trouble when we get home."

"Promise?" Sam asked with a grin.

"Aargh!" I growled.

"SHH!" the people in front of me shushed me, causing Sam and Brad to crack up.

"Ooh, there's Spencer!" Sam said, pointing as he walked out, standing at the front of the church auditorium. "Oh my god, he looks like he's gonna throw up."

"Or pass out," Brad said, making a face.

"He does look kinda nervous," I agreed. "Dude, what if he does pass out?"

"Or throws up?" Sam asked. She looked at me, and I shrugged, and then she turned to Brad. The two of them stared at one another in silence, before scrambling for their phones, holding them up.

"I am so getting this on video!" Brad said.

"Yeah, me too!" Sam put in.

"Will you two cool it?" I hissed, grabbing their phones. "Knock it off!"

"Sheesh, sorry," Sam replied, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, just trying to have a little fun," Brad grunted.

"We're not here to have fun!" I replied, annoyed. "Weddings have nothing to do with fun!"

Sam glared at me. "Oh, really?"

I sighed. "That's not what I meant, baby, and you know it. What's up with you? I thought you of all people would care about this..."

She shrugged, looking at the ground. "I dunno."

I gave her a Look. "You sure everything's alright?"

"Yeah, and it would be a lot better if you'd stop riding me so hard."

"That's gotta be the first time she's ever said that," Brad cracked, and Sam silenced him with a death glare. Brad just rolled his eyes, reaching behind her head to reach for his phone. "Gimme my phone, dude!"

"Ugh, fine, here! Just be quiet! Play Angry Birds or something!"

"Your mom's an angry bird," Brad muttered, toying with his phone.

"Very mature," I said with a disgusted sigh. What the hell was going on with those two today? Neither one of them were taking this seriously.

"Oh, it's starting!" Sam said. "I hear music. Game faces!" she elbowed Brad.

"Game faces," he replied, elbowing her back.

"Game face!" she hissed.

"Seriously, knock it off," I said between gritted teeth, glaring at them. "I will move, you guys are embarrassing as hell right now!"

"Fine," Sam replied sulkily.

The music had indeed started, and pretty soon the procession came down the aisle, bridesmaids first.

"Aw, Carly looks so pretty," Sam commented. "She looks good in violet."

"She hates that dress," Brad added under his breath, giving Carly a bright smile as she walked by us. "She thinks she looks bony in it."

Sam snorted a bit. "She's retarded. She looks awesome."

"Oh yeah," Brad replied. "Gorgeous."

Sam's concentration seemed to evaporate after she'd gotten a good look at her best friend, toying with her dress and fidgeting awkwardly as the flower girls came down the aisle. I rolled my eyes in annoyance; I hadn't been this irritated with Sam in a long time, and not only had she picked Spencer's wedding to pull a brat attack, but on Valentine's Day too! What the hell?

Luckily she managed to rein in her bratiness when April walked down the aisle, but she still continued to stare at the floor, letting out a big sigh when the officiate began to speak. I glared at her and shook her arm.

"What's gotten into you today?" I growled. "Why are you acting like this?"

She didn't respond, just jerked her arm away, staring straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge me. Man, this was not how to day was supposed to go. I tried to focus on the ceremony, but my concentration failed when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Oh my god, seriously? I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't, because Brad suddenly reached behind Sam's head and flicked my ear. It took everything I had in me not to yelp out loud again, and I glared at him, but he just gave me a pointed look, mouthing 'READ MY TEXT.'

I sighed, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

Brad: Lay off Sam.

I quickly texted him back.

'Why? She's being a brat.'

Brad: She's jealous, numnuts. She got married in your uncle's office. I've been trying to distract her. Retard.

I looked over at him in surprise, and he nodded, giving me a Look that basically read 'Duh.'

Man, I am really bad at reading signals sometimes. Just when I think I have that girl figured out, she throws me for a loop. Wonderful. I put my arm around her, pulling her close to me, and she looked up in surprise.

"Thought you were mad at me," she whispered, and I shook my head.

"You want that, don't you baby?" I asked in a hushed voice, gesturing to Spencer and April. She shrugged, looking in front of her again, and I could see the scowl plastered across her face.

"Maybe," she responded. "Not a big deal."

"Yes it is, if it's important to you."

"It's fine."

I rolled my eyes. She always had to be difficult. She'd rather get into an argument than share her feelings sometimes, and it was supremely annoying. No point in asking what she wanted, she'd be more likely to go for it if I acted like I wanted what she wanted.

"Let's do it," I whispered in her ear, and she looked up at me.

"I'd have to change my tattoo," she reminded me, and I shook my head.

"Same day. July 14th. Let's renew our vows."

Sam bit her bottom lip, her eyes locked on mine. "Really?"

"Mmhmm. I want to."

She didn't respond, just gave me a huge smile, before kissing me quickly. "I love you," she whispered.

"Love you too, baby. Now be happy."

"I am," she replied, laying her head on my shoulder and focusing her attention on the ceremony. I sighed in relief, then I felt my phone vibrate again, and I looked down.

Brad: Well played, grasshopper.

I'd been so focused on Sam that I'd missed most of the ceremony, but my attention focused back on it just in time to hear seven very familiar words.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!" I couldn't help but smile a little as Spencer grabbed April by her waist and planted a fierce kiss on her, before leaping with joy, letting out a yell of excitement. It was typical Spencer.

And as everyone applauded and cheered, I heard the sound of Carly squealing "WHOOO!" before tossing her bouquet in the air. That was typical Carly.

Sam didn't even wait for people to start getting up, before grabbing me by my tie and yanking my head to hers, kissing me passionately, and I responded by grabbing her by the back of the head, kissing her back.

That was typical us.


	87. Chapter 87: Soldier of Love

**A/N: Thanks so much for your amazing reviews! I swear, honestly some of them absolutely made my day! **

**Chapter Eighty Seven:  
><strong>**Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)**

~*Sam*~

"Well, ten more days until graduation," Carly said, looking at the calendar on her PearPhone.

"That's a good thing, remember?" I reminded her, and she shrugged.

"But that means only sixty eight days until Brad leaves," she sighed.

"Carly! You gotta stop thinking of it like that!" I scolded her. "Especially while we're supposed to be shopping for my dress! The big event is only thirty nine days away!"

I couldn't believe how fast time had flown by since the wedding, but I wasn't complaining, much. The past few months had been nothing short of amazing. I was more in love with Freddie than ever, and I was pretty sure he felt the same way about me. We hadn't had a fight in months, other than the day my favorite blue shirt had "mysteriously" vanished and the kid had the balls to tell me the washing machine ate it. Ugh, he could be so dense sometimes. Never once had it occurred to him that I pretended to not how to do laundry, just so I wouldn't have to do it. Aside from Freddie's questionable methods of dealing with my taste in fashion, however, things were good. Better than good, they were amazing. We were completely in synch, completely happy, and...I didn't even know how it was humanly possible, but our sex life had gotten even BETTER. Almost a year of being married, we STILL couldn't keep our hands off each other. I had no idea what I had done in my life to deserve being this happy, but I would never stop being grateful for it. I loved Freddie so much, I couldn't imagine life without him.

Carly was having the same problem, trying to imagine life without Brad, and it wasn't easy for her. She was literally dreading graduation, because that just meant high school was over, and it was only a matter of time before Brad left. It was so disappointing. Carly wanted him to stay so bad, but I mean, we ALL did. He was a really good friend of mine, and my husband's BEST friend. Freddie hadn't actually admitted it aloud, but I knew it was going to be hard on him losing Brad too. Freddie hadn't been able to really bond with another guy in literally years, and now all that was about to change. It was going to suck for him, I just hoped I could pick up the slack.

But I couldn't think about that right now, I had something else on my mind, and that was the vow renewal. I was so, so, so excited about it. It was so odd, growing up I'd always hated the idea of marriage and weddings and all of that, but it was different now. I had a feeling if it wasn't Freddie I was with, I would STILL hate the idea, but as it were, I couldn't wait to do the whole thing over! It wasn't going to be huge, extravagant, or anything like that, just a very private, intimate ceremony, only a few, key, very important people invited. NO webshow stuff. Despite the fact that we had one of the most popular webshows on the internet that was also now an extremely profitable business, Freddie and I went to GREAT lengths to keep our relationship private from the rest of the world. Kind of comical, considering we couldn't even keep our hands off each other in public, but I guess the fact that Freddie usually had a camera in his hands while we were doing iCarly made it easier to abstain.

I looked around the dress shop nervously, I was so ill-prepared for this, and it didn't help that my best friend was currently acting like a basket-case. But it had to be PERFECT. I already had a good idea of what I wanted, short, white, no sparkly crap, maybe a little bit of lace, but pretty simple. I was still pretty shocked that Spencer and April had agreed to let us have it at their house, their massive, ridiculously gorgeous house with a ginormous beautiful garden that would be absolutely perfect. God bless that girl and her trust fund. Those two were really happy together, just two artists living in a big house working on paintings and sculptures every day while April's belly grew bigger and bigger. She was cute pregnant. I wondered if I would look cute pregnant, or just a big blob, but I still had a few years to ponder over it, because Freddie and I had agreed to wait, me until I was done with Law school, Freddie when he got done with Grad School. After months of agonizing, he'd finally decided to go into Engineering, and I knew he'd be perfectly suited to it.

Things were moving pretty fast, and getting better and better every day. Except for Brad and Carly, that is. Those two just seemed to be getting worse. I was trying to do everything I could to cheer Carly up, but it wasn't working.

"Get ahold of yourself, Shay! He's not gone yet!"

"Sorry," Carly replied. "It's just hard."

"I know, but...you guys aren't breaking up, right?" I asked her, and she shrugged.

"I dunno."

"WHAT?" I yelled. "What's wrong with you? Why would you even think about that?"

"Sam, Brad's gonna be gone for four years, and then he's gonna join the Marines! That's eight years! Eight years of being in a long distance relationship?" she shook her head. "I don't know if I can do that."

I scowled at her. "Then you don't love him very much."

"What?" she replied, glaring at me. "How can you say that? If Freddie wanted to go away for eight years, you're telling me you'd stay in a relationship with him?"

"In a heartbeat," I replied truthfully. "There is no other guy who can come close to making me feel the way Freddie does! Why even try? Even if I had to be away from him for a long period of time, it'd be worth it! I love him! And I thought you loved Brad."

"I do love Brad," Carly cried. "But this isn't fair!"

"Life's not fair, Carly! But if you cared about Brad..." I trailed off, trying to bite my tongue, but it failed. "If you dump him before he goes to the academy, when he already has all this stuff to deal with, Carly, I swear to God!"

"Sam, this isn't any of your business!"

"Like hell it isn't!" I replied. "You're my best friend, Brad's like number two, and he's my husband's best friend! It is so my business! You can't do that to him, Carly! I can't even believe you would THINK about breaking up with him!"

"I don't want to be miserable and lonely in college, Sam!"

I rolled my eyes. "Carly, you know how you tell me pretty much weekly that Freddie and I aren't individual people anymore? That we're just Seddie now?"

"Yeah," Carly gruffed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's true! It's not MY life anymore, it's OUR life. It's OUR relationship! All I've heard out of you this whole conversation is you, you, you! It's all about you! You're not even thinking about Brad's feelings right now, Carly! He loves you! You hear me? He LOVES you!"

"If he loved me he wouldn't leave!" Carly cried.

"CARLY!" I shouted, ignoring the dirty looks we were getting from the salespeople. "Listen to yourself! You are asking him to turn his back on his father! Do you know how hard that would be for him? For all the shit he talks, and the different he tries so hard to rebel, he's a good little Catholic boy! You can't make him turn his back on his family. It's not about if he loved you, he would stay. If YOU loved HIM, you wouldn't be asking him to do this."

Carly glared at me, and I knew I'd struck a nerve, but I didn't expect her to turn around and walk away, leaving me in the dress store by myself! But she did just that, and I was completely dumbstruck!

"CARLY!" I yelled "Are you serious right now? You're just gonna leave me hanging?"

"I can't deal with this right now, Sam!" Carly yelled back over her shoulder.

I slumped down on one of the overstuffed ugly pink patterned sofas, groaning. There's no way in HELL I could handle this by myself, I didn't trust my own judgment when it came to dresses. But I couldn't call Freddie, even though we were already married, I was pretty sure it'd still be bad luck if he saw me in the dress before the ceremony, and I wasn't taking any chances. Time for back up!

I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"Hey, Mel? Are you busy?"

"That depends, did you get arrested?" Melanie asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"What if I said yes?"

"Then I'd say I'm getting my nails done, and you can wait."

"Mel!" I scolded her. "Okay, well, what if I told you I needed help picking out a dress for the vow renewals because my best friend bailed on me?"

"Then I'd say tell me where you are, and let's find something that'll make Freddie's jaw hit the ground!"

"I'm at the bridal shop, the one two blocks from Bushwell."

"Alright, I'll be there in fifteen. Go ahead and start pulling all the boob-arrific gowns."

"No boob-arrific, Mel."

"What?" Melanie cried. "Do you have a fever or something?"

"No, it's a wedding, tard! I can't have my boobs out!" I responded. "That's for after the ceremony, when Freddie and I have alone time."

"True. Okay, I'll be right there. Love you."

"Love you too, sis, now hurry your ass down here! I'm freaking out!"

"Don't freak out, puddin' pop. I'm on my way."

"K," I replied. "See you soon." I hung up, and looked around, feeling incredibly out of my element and out of my league. Damn Carly for leaving me alone with this!

~*Freddie*~

I was so incredibly irritated right now! I couldn't believe Sam was late! We were supposed to go over to Spencer and April's to check out the backyard, and she was LATE! She'd better have a damn good explanation for this one! She'd run off with Carly somewhere and refused to tell me what she was up to, but I'd already gotten a text from Brad saying he was with Carly at Spencer's already!

I sat on the couch, arms crossed, waiting for her, and she finally showed up, flinging the door open and dropping her bag on the ground.

"Baby, what the hell?" I growled. "You're HALF AN HOUR late!"

"I'm sorry," she replied softly.

"Why were you late?" I replied, standing up. "I thought this was important to you! I thought this was important to us!"

"Baby, I'm sorry!" she cried. "Carly and I were shopping, and we had an argument, and she just left! I had to call in Mel for back up!"

"You were late because you were SHOPPING?" I asked, my eyebrows going up. "You sound like you're turning INTO your sister! Sam, seriously?"

"I was trying to find the dress!" she cried. "And Carly just left! You know I'm not good with that stuff! I just wanted it to be perfect, and nothing FIT! And Carly just..." she trailed off, biting her lip. "I'm sorry."

I sighed, much of my anger evaporating. She wasn't flaking, she was stuck in the details again.

"Don't be mad at me," she said.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I just wish you would have let me know you were going to be late."

"And this IS important to me! But Carly, she..."

"Don't worry about Carly right now, baby," I replied, hugging her. "It's alright. We gotta go."

"Freddie, she's gonna break up with Brad!" Sam cried, flopping down on the couch.

"What?" I yelled. "But...she...they...WHY? Why would she do that?"

"She doesn't want Brad to leave, and she doesn't want to be lonely, so she says."

I rolled my eyes. Great, now I was pissed off again, but for an entirely different reason. Breaking Brad's heart right before he had to go spend four years in a place he emphatically didn't want to be would just be adding insult to injury, was she trying to screw the kid up for good?

"So...what...she's like...giving him an ultimatum?" I snapped. "Yeah, because that always works!"

"I dunno!" she cried. "I don't want them to split up! And I don't want him to leave either! Why does this have to happen? I mean...I can't believe I'm getting so worked up about this, but...it's like...the four of us...we're so good together! And now everything's gonna change, and I don't want it to change!"

"I know, baby," I replied, sitting down next to her and pulling her into my arms. "I don't want him to leave either. But...this kind of thing happens sometimes, you know..."

"I just don't want it to," she sighed, laying her head on my shoulder. "It makes me worry."

"About what?"

"What if we split up?"

"Baby! We are NEVER going to split up!" I responded, kissing her passionately. "You hear me? NEVER. I love you with all my heart, nothing's ever going to break us apart."

"You mean that?" she asked, looking up at me.

"Yes! We've been through hell and back, within the first year! We can handle anything! Just because Carly and Brad might split up doesn't mean we will. Look, Carly's your best friend, even if you don't want her to break up with him, you gotta have her back."

"But Brad's your best friend," she said softly. "Are you gonna have his back?"

"Of course," I responded.

"Then there's gonna be sides. Stuff to fight over. And we've gone a pretty long time without fighting now."

"We're not gonna fight over Brad and Carly, okay? I refuse to do that. I'm not gonna take sides, I'll just try to be there for both of them, and you should do the same!"

She nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna try."

"Please do. Don't worry your pretty little head over this, okay? We have a lot of other things to deal with right now. Courses, the show...the ceremony? Remember that?"

She gave me a small smile. "How could I forget? I can't wait."

"Me neither, baby. Did you find a dress?"

She nodded. "Mmhmm. It's really pretty. I mean, I have to get some alterations done to it...my boob to waist ratio is a little bit off..."

"Looks pretty damn good to me," I replied, my hands going to her waist before kissing her. "We gotta go, but when we get back I'll spend a little time showing you in detail how damn good I think your ratios look to me."

"Sounds good to me," she replied. "Come on, let's go. I can't believe it's a twenty five minute drive."

"Yeah, no kidding," I responded, standing up and pulling her up with me. "But from what Carly told me, they have a pretty large property...gotta be pretty far out to afford that kind of real estate."

"I still can't believe Spencer wound up in a mansion!" she said, shaking her head. "I mean, the idea's pretty far out."

I held open the door for her, and she bent down to grab her bag, before scooting out the door, and we walked down the hallway together, my hand going into her back pocket and pulling her close to me. It was something I did a lot, even when we were just walking somewhere, I always wanted her close to me. We stepped on the elevator, and I pressed the down button, leaning against the wall.

"Do you want a house? After we have kids I mean?"

She shrugged. "I'm a city girl. I doubt we'll ever get to mansion territory, and the idea of living in the 'burbs amongst all the soccer moms is kind of frightening."

"What makes you think you won't end up being a soccer mom?" I teased, and she made a face.

"You know damn well if that happened it'd only be a matter of time before I punched out a ref for making a bad call on my kid."

"You're gonna end up terrorizing the PTA," I cracked, and she shook her head.

"Nah, I'm gonna run that shit."

I laughed a little, before kissing her. "I can see that."

A little over half an hour later, we'd finally pulled up to Spencer and April's house, and both of us were a little taken aback.

"Holy shit!" Sam exclaimed. "Look at this place! It's huge!"

"Yeah, no kidding. I wonder how many bedrooms they have in them?"

"And how we could distract them so we could have sex in every single one of them," Sam added with a grin, and I just grinned right back at her.

"Have I mentioned how much I love your dirty little mind?" I replied, and she shrugged.

"Maybe once or twice," she responded, before ringing the doorbell. A few moments later, April answered the door.

"Hey you guys!" she said. "Welcome to our humble abode!"

"Humble?" Sam snorted. "Yeah right...awww...the bump!"

April had gotten a LOT bigger since the last time we saw her, her due date was only about six months away, and the poor girl looked ready to pop.

"I feel like a duck," April complained. "I keep waddling everywhere..."

"Aw, it's so cute," Sam replied, staring at her stomach. "But I bet you are ready to pop that thing out."

April laughed. "It's a girl, Sam."

"Oh!" Sam replied. "Spencer didn't tell us that."

"Well, she is, and I can't wait for her to come out! I'm so tired all the time, and it's been really bad today. I'm just sore! But anyway, her room's almost done! You guys come in, Carly and Brad are out back."

Sam looked at me pointedly, and I shook my head, trying to get her to keep quiet about the whole Carly/Brad issue. The last thing I wanted right now was a fight, that wasn't what we were here for. We followed April through the massive house, Sam and I both looking around in wonder. Wow, Spencer sure did luck out with this one. We finally reached the back door, which led out to a huge verandah, where Brad, Carly, and Spencer were all sitting. Brad just gave me a nod, but Carly just had a sour expression on her face.

"Hey guys!" Spencer shouted.

"Hey, Spence!" I greeted him. "How's married life treating you?"

"Can't complain!" he replied. "You?"

"Always great with this one," I responded, gesturing to Sam.

"Hey Spencer, thanks so much for doing this for us!" she said, walking over to where he was standing and bending down to give him a quick hug.

"You sure you're not slipping happy pills into her food or something?" Spencer asked, looking at me, and I shook my head.

"No, but he's been slipping me something else on a thrice daily basis," she replied.

"Sam," I warned her, and she just shrugged, before looking over at Carly.

"Carly."

"Sam."

I rolled my eyes. Oh great, here it comes.

"Thanks for bailing on me for pretty much the most important shopping trip ever! It's okay though, Mel covered your ass. While you were busy thinking only about you."

"Can we not do this right now?" I asked, but the girls ignored me.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked. "What's with all the hostility? Carly, is this why you've been in a bad mood since you got here? Because you got in a fight with Sam?"

Carly was silent for a moment, before glaring at Sam and then exploding. "Only because Sam can't mind her own business!"

"Only because Carly only thinks about herself!" Sam shouted back.

"Baby..." I warned her. "Calm down!" But again they both ignored me.

"Only because Sam thinks she has the right to tell other people what to do in their love lives!"

Brad gave me a quizzical look, and I tried to come off as clueless, but I knew it probably wasn't sticking, and he probably wouldn't buy it.

"Only because Carly is a dumb ass and wants her best friend to be happy!"

Sam was pissed, but not half as pissed as Carly was. She was absolutely fuming, and I could tell she was about to start tripping over her words. She got like that when she was angry, and that's when things got dangerous between her and Sam. Carly would fire off without even thinking sometimes, and then Sam would just go for the jugular.

"Only because Sam...IS A BITCH!" Carly shouted.

"Oh, shit," I groaned. Yep, there it was. The one thing Sam hated most. And Carly had just played the card, at her brother's house, in front of her pregnant sister-in-law, while Sam and I were supposed to be discussing the ceremony. Now I was pissed.

"Carly!" I yelled, that's enough.

"Will you guys stop?" April said, sitting down in a chair, looking stressed.

"You guys knock it off!" Spencer yelled. "You're upsetting April! I don't want her stressed out in her condition!"

"I'm fine, honey," April replied, before looking at Carly. "Carly, stop it! We didn't ask you guys over here so you and Sam could argue! I'm sorry, but ditching your best friend while she's trying to buy THE dress? Not cool."

"But..." Carly started, and April just cut her off.

"Enough!" April shouted, before standing up. "You guys stay here, Spencer, let's go show Sam and Freddie the gardens."

"You sure you're okay to walk, honey-bunny?" Spencer replied, helping her to her feet. "You're looking a little pale."

"I'm okay, baby," she replied, before looking at us. "Come on, let's go."

I took Sam's hand, leading her down the stairs to the backyard, leaving Brad and Carly alone.

"We need to talk," I heard Brad say, and my eyes widened.

Uh oh.

I tried to focus on the tour April was giving us of the backyard, and I had to admit, it was absolutely perfect. There was one specific spot of the yard, an expanse of grass surrounded by trees, flowers, and shrubs, that would do the job amazingly.

"I like this spot," Sam commented.

"I do too," I said.

April gave us a smile. "I was pretty sure you guys would pick this spot. We can set up everything perfectly, should be able to fit about twenty chairs in here..."

"Oh, that's more than enough, trust me," I replied.

"Great!" she responded. "So then...ooh!" she shouted suddenly, making a face as her hands went to her stomach.

"Baby, you okay?" Spencer asked, concerned, and she nodded.

"Just a Braxton-Hicks. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh," she said. "So...the chairs can go here, we'll set you guys up right here...is your uncle still officiating it for you guys?" she asked me, and I nodded.

"Just like before."

"Aw, that's so sweet," she replied. "Okay, so any questions?"

Sam looked at me, and I shrugged, and so did she. "No, I think we're good. If we do, we'll let you know."

"Okay. Wanna go back now?"

Sam sighed. "If Carly can control her mouth. I don't wanna deal with this today."

"Baby, it's okay," I started, but she cut me off.

"No it's not!" she exclaimed. "She called me a bitch! I hate that! You know I hate that!"

"I know, baby, just ignore her. You know she's dealing with a lot right now, cut her some slack."

"I'm dealing with a lot too, dammit!" she growled.

"Well, how about I make you feel better when we get home?" I replied. "I'll give you a really good massage..."

Her eyebrows went up in interest, and she nodded fervently. "Fine by me, Carly who?"

I just smirked a little, and we started to walk back, but then I heard April gasp behind us.

"Spencer!"

"April, what's wrong?" he asked in a panicked voice.

"Oh god..." she trailed off, and Sam and I whirled around to look at her.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Spencer asked again, and her face went white as a sheet.

"My water just broke!"

~*Carly*~

I sat in the hospital waiting room chair in absolute shock; I couldn't believe this was happening! How could April have just gone into labor six weeks early, with no warning whatsoever? And more to the point, was me and Sam arguing the cause of it? Had we stressed her out? Oh god, I felt so guilty! Too guilty to even continue fighting with Sam. We just sat across from each other, staring at the floor. She was next to Freddie and I was next to Brad, but Brad didn't have his arm around me like Freddie was doing with Sam.

Brad and I were having major, major problems. The anticipated separation was causing a lot of tension between us, we were arguing all the time. He still spent much of his free time at my apartment, but part of me wondered if it was just to get away from his crazy family.

It was weird, he was making me so angry, but I was mostly angry because he was leaving me behind. I just didn't want him to leave, I didn't care if I was being selfish. I loved him, and I didn't want him to leave me behind! What if he met someone else while he was going to school in New York, while I just sat around and wasted four years, eight years even, of my life, waiting around for him? The idea was just depressing! I didn't want to sit around and wait to get hurt!

But I couldn't even think about that right now, all I could think about was Spencer and April! Six weeks didn't seem like all that much, but to a developing unborn child, it was huge. It could have all sorts of problems, the baby could even die! Oh god, what if she died? She didn't even have a name yet!

I stared at the floor, trying to be strong, Brad just sitting next to me staring off into space but not paying me any attention and all, and finally I just lost it, bursting into tears. Brad was pretty upset with me, so I didn't expect him to try to comfort me, but he did, both arms going around me and pulling me to him.

"Babe, it's gonna be okay," he whispered in my ear. "Spencer and April and the baby will be fine."

"How do you know that?" I cried. "How! The baby could die!"

"Please don't say that," Sam said in a soft voice, staring at the ground. "I don't want to think about that."

"Well maybe you should!" I snapped. "It's a possibility! Not everything's a damn fairytale, Sam!"

"Enough!" Freddie cried. "Damn! Lay off the girl! Just because you're jealous..."

"Jealous!" I cried. "Of what? Jealous of you two shutting the rest of the world out because you're not strong enough to handle it on your own, you need each other as a crutch!"

"Carly!" Brad said, shaking my shoulder. "Enough! Taking everything out on your friends isn't gonna solve your problems, it's gonna make them worse!"

I pulled myself out of Brad's grasp suddenly, standing up. "Just leave me alone! All of you!" With that, I stormed out of the waiting room, leaving Sam, Freddie, and Brad alone. I managed to make it a little ways down the hallway before leaning against the wall, slowly sliding down it until I hit the ground, resting my forehead on my knees and sobbing.

I didn't mean to treat my friends so bad, and I didn't mean to keep snapping at my boyfriend. Freddie was right. I WAS jealous. I was jealous that they had each other and I was about to lose Brad, maybe for good. I was jealous that they had this great life together, and I was alone. And I was terrified at the prospect that my niece could come out sick, or even dead. It was just so scary.

I felt so alone. And that was scary as hell.


	88. Chapter 88: Maggie Mae

**A/N: Kind of a short chapter. I am still a little bit IN SHOCK about tonight's iCarly...what the hell? OMG. I am so not cool with this. On the other hand, maybe I'm a little too wrapped up in my own story, but did anybody else think about Sam jumping on Freddie when she hit the stop button on the elevator on tonight's episode? Cuz I sure did. Stupid G rating!**

**Chapter Eighty Eight:  
><strong>**Maggie Mae**

~*Sam*~

Brad, Freddie, and I were all silent as we sat in the waiting room after what had just transpired with Carly.

"So...that probably wasn't the best way to deal with things," I said finally, and Brad just shook his head, staring at the ground.

"Probably not."

"What's going through your head right now?" Freddie asked Brad, and he shrugged.

"I dunno. This is bad."

"Yeah, it is. But I was talking about Carly," Freddie replied.

Brad sighed, running a hand over his shaved head. It was something he did a lot, like he still couldn't believe he didn't have his hair anymore. "There's...we're having problems."

"Yeah," I said, staring at the ground, my leg swinging back and forth awkwardly.

"I dunno if it's gonna work out. She's pushing me away."

"She doesn't want you to leave," I replied, and he nodded.

"I don't either. But...I don't know. I just...I don't know anything anymore. I'm really lost about how to deal with everything. I can't go against what my dad wants, but...I don't think we're gonna survive this."

"Brad, what do you want?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I don't want to leave. I don't want to spend my entire life in the military. But I don't want to let my family down."

"Well, if you did," Freddie started, and Brad glared at him. "I'm saying IF, Brad! Chill!"

Brad seemed to relax a little bit, and Freddie continued. "IF you did, what do you think would happen?"

"They'd cut me off."

"Do you think they'd cut you off forever?" I asked, and Brad shrugged.

"I don't know."

"I don't think they would, man. You're the first-born son, that means something. I don't think they would just completely cut you off for eternity. Yeah, they'd be mad, but they'd get over it eventually!"

"I just...I don't know if I'm willing to take that chance."

"Are you willing to take the chance you might lose Carly forever?" I asked.

"I..." Brad trailed off, before sighing, leaning his head back in his chair, silent for a few moments. "Why do we keep ending up back in this place, man? Nothing good ever happens here! Spencer's about to lose his kid!"

"We don't know that yet," Freddie replied.

"Six weeks is pretty early," I said.

"My cousin, Stephanie, was a month early. And she turned out okay," he said. "I mean, they were concerned at first, but...she's okay now. She's not behind on her development or anything."

I didn't say anything, just nodded. After a moment, I stood up, bending down to kiss Freddie. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" he replied.

"I'm gonna track down Carly. I feel kind of like an ass right now. Even if she did blow up at me."

He nodded. "Alright. Don't get in another fight, okay?"

"I won't, baby," I replied. I looked at Brad, kicking his foot, and he looked up at me. "Be strong, Kemosabe."

"Me strong like bull," Brad shot back with a grin that I could tell was forced.

"And full of it," I responded, before turning back to Freddie. "You deal with this one, I'll take care of his other half."

Brad sighed. "My better half."

I shrugged. "Maybe. You're both pretty kick-ass to me." With that, I took off down the hall in search of Carly. It didn't take too long to find her, she was sitting against a wall, crying. Poor kid, she looked so sad. I felt bad. Even though she was being way too hard on Brad, she was still my best friend, and I know her heart must be breaking in a million pieces. I had to be there for her, whether she was right or wrong in all of this.

"Hey," I called, and she looked up.

"Hi," she replied, wiping her face. I walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"Did you know there's rib-flavored potato chips in the vending machine?"

"Cool," she replied.

"Carly..." I started, but she cut me off, sobbing.

"What if the baby dies?" she cried. "I'm gonna lose my niece, and Brad is leaving, and...and...I'm all alone! Oh my god, this sucks!"

"Carls, it's okay!" I replied, my arm going around her. "Look, you and Brad can still make this work...and we don't know what's gonna happen with the baby yet. But you know little Stephanie? Freddie's cousin?"

"The one he can't make laugh?"

"Well, I don't blame the kid, Freddie's kind of lacking in the funny department. I mean, he's got the sexy bit down to a T, but the funny..." I trailed off when she gave me a Look. "Sorry. Anyway, Freddie said she was a month early."

"But Stephanie's normal," she commented.

"As normal as anyone with Benson blood can possibly be, but yeah! She's fine! Maybe Spencer and April's baby will be okay too!"

She nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry I bailed on shopping for your dress."

"It's cool. I know you've got a lot of stuff on your plate right now. But I still don't think you should dump Brad."

"He's leaving," Carly grumbled. "Why shouldn't I just get it over with? Why shouldn't we break up?"

"Because you love him!" I replied. "I can tell! You look at him the same way I look at Freddie!"

"No I don't," she replied. "You always look like you want to eat Freddie alive!"

I laughed a little bit. "Most of the time I do, but when we're not like that...I love the hell outta that boy, and I know you feel the same way about Brad! I know you're upset about him leaving, and that's okay! Just because you guys are feeling bad about things going on in your relationship doesn't mean there's something WRONG with your relationship! You can't just give up, Carls!"

Carly stared at me for a minute, before sighing. "When did you get so smart?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm starting to think maybe Freddie has some sort of nerd virus and I caught it."

Carly rolled her eyes, laughing. "Very cute."

"Yeah, I think that's it...and I think it's transferred via sex. You know, from his..."

"SAM!" Carly yelled, shoving me. "That's enough! Ew!"

I just stuck my tongue out at her. "Sorry. Look, you can't sit out in the hallway boo-hoo-ing all afternoon. Wanna go sneak around and find out what's going on?"

"But we're not allowed back there," she replied, looking at me quizzically, and I just gave her a smile. "Oh no! I know that face!"

"Do you?" I replied, standing up and grabbing her arms, yanking her to her feet. "Now let's see...where can we find some scrubs?"

"Sam!" Carly yelled. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm pretty sure it's illegal."

"So? Like that's ever stopped me?"

"We cannot pretend to be doctors, Sam!"

I rolled my eyes. "Carly, come on! I've grown up a lot in the past year or so. I'm not suggesting we pretend to be doctors."

"Oh, phew," Carly replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was starting to think-"

"We're going to pretend to be nurses," I cut her off.

"We can't do that!"

"Says who?"

"I dunno...like...the Hippocratic oath or something?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hippocrates never had to deal with the idea of losing a niece or nephew! Come on, Shay! Live a little!"

"Freddie's gonna be mad at you if you end up getting arrested, you know!"

"Don't worry, we have enough money to cover bail," I replied. "And don't worry about Freddie being mad at me. I can fix that in a heartbeat. I'll do that thing he likes."

Carly looked at me strangely. "Okay, this is totally going against my better judgment, but...I really wanna know...what is this thing?"

I rolled my eyes. "He likes to watch."

"Watch? Watch what?"

I looked at her pointedly, and she gasped, her eyes wide. "Oh my gosh...wait." she looked at me. "So...when I asked what that noise was the other night and Freddie said his phone broke and wouldn't get off vibrate...that wasn't a phone was it?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Freddie bought me a little something. For nights I've worn him out too much or he just wants to throw something else into the mix."

"Oh my god! You guys really are perverts!"

"Yeah, a little," I replied. We started walking down the hall, towards the restricted area, and I poked her suddenly.

"What?"

"I like watching too."

I thought Carly would freak out, but she didn't, she just seemed a little bit lost in thought, and I poked her again.

"Aah!" she yelled. "What?"

"I'm gonna start calling you Lil Perv," I replied with a grin.

"Why?"

"Because you were just thinking about Brad."

"No...no I wasn't," she mumbled, her cheeks turning red.

"You were thinking about watching Brad."

"Sam!" Carly shoved me, and her cheeks continued to flush.

"You wanna watch Brad do the Karate Kid!"

"What? The what?"

"You know...wax on...whacks off!"

"Oh my god!" Carly cried. "Okay, that's enough! We're not talking about this anymore!"

"I'm gonna tell him."

"Sam! You better not!"

"I am." I grinned at her, and she just continued to look mortified. I threw my arm around her, pulling her to me. "Oh Carls, there's so much I have to teach you. But later. Let's go break some Hospital Codes of Conduct."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" she responded, and I shrugged.

"No. But that's never stopped us before."

She was silent for a moment, before nodding. "Good point. Let's go find some scrubs."

~*Freddie*~

"Dude, do you have any more quarters? Sam is gonna flip her shit over this!" I yelled over at Brad, ducking as he winged some change at my head.

"What is she gonna flip her shit over?"

"These!" I replied, bending down to pluck my selection out of the bottom of the vending machine.

"Oh wow. Rib-flavored potato chips? That's unexpected."

"And epically Sam," I responded. "Gimme some more change, I'm gonna clean out their stock."

"Why don't you just go online and track the company down and order some?" Brad responded.

"Oh I'm gonna, but first I'm gonna clean out the vending machine stock."

Brad rolled his eyes. "Spending all your change, and all your best friend's change on artificial meat flavored snack food? Nobody can ever say you don't love that girl."

I just shrugged, continuing to feed more change into the machine. "So you really think you and Carly are gonna call it quits?"

"I dunno, man! I love her, but I'm afraid she's gonna be miserable if I'm not here."

I turned to give him a Look. "And breaking up with her, you think that's gonna make her less miserable?"

"Dude, I don't know! I've never broken up with a girl by choice before! My last girlfriend dumped ME, this is all new to me!"

"But you guys don't HAVE to break up!" I reminded him, my arms full of rib-flavored potato chips for Sam. I walked over to where Brad was sitting and sat down across from him, filling the chair next to me with snack food. "And you know there's still option B."

"Freddie," Brad warned.

"Sorry, I'm just saying!" I replied. "Look man, I still don't believe if you didn't go your family's gonna excommunicate you. At least not forever. But in twenty years, you may look back on your life and be extremely unhappy and disappointed with the path you chose. Or the one that got chosen for you, whatever. And I have a serious feeling that if you just throw you and Carly's whole relationship away, she's gonna be stuck in your head for the rest of your life as the one who got away."

Brad shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. Aargh!" he growled, his head in his hands. "Why does this shit have to be so hard?"

"That's life, man. Relax, have a rib," I replied, offering him a bag of the chips. I still had about ten more bags sitting next to me.

"I don't want those nasty things. You eat it," Brad gruffed, and I shook my head.

"Can't," I replied, looking over the ingredients list. "There's straight up sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and lactose in this...good god. You know, I never realized how much shit has sugar in it. Maybe that's why Sam's always amped up." I looked over at the stockpile. "Maybe I should rethink giving her these."

"Yeah, but if Sam wasn't so amped up, you guys wouldn't be doing it all the time," Brad pointed out, and I nodded.

"Excellent point. You got any more quarters?"

"Yeah, but you cleaned out the rib chips."

"I know. I'm thinking she might need chocolate."

Brad laughed, shaking his head. "You guys are nuts."

"I'm just trying to keep my wife happy."

"You're just trying to keep your dick happy," Brad replied, and I just grinned.

"Yeah, him too."

~*Carly*~

"Are you sure this is okay?" I whined nervously, and Sam just rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"We look a little bit young to be nurses," I reminded her, and she shrugged.

"We're student nurses."

"You would be a scary nurse," I responded.

I couldn't believe we were doing this, but still, it was kind of cool, it was like old times, me and Sam involved in a crazy scheme, sneaky around the hospital in costume like we were spies or something. I was determined to find Spencer and April and try to at least get an update.

"Baby ward!" Sam yelled, grabbing my arm and pointing.

"Sam, shhh! You're gonna give us away!"

"Right. Sorry," she responded as we headed through the double doors. "You know, I kinda feel like...Charlie's Angels or something..."

"This was your idea, so that kinda makes you Bosley," I reminded her. "You're far from an angel."

"Very funny," Sam grunted.

"Well, maybe you're Freddie's angel..."

"Nah, I'm his little devil. He told me so. He's my angel..." she trailed off, making a face. "God that was cheesy. Remind me to never say that again."

"I can't really imagine Freddie with a halo anyway..." I replied. "Okay, let's just find Spencer and April before we get caught."

"Hey, there's other people in here though..." Sam commented. "Grandparents and stuff..."

"Yeah, but April's like...in critical condition or whatever. I think."

"Well, let's go find out," Sam responded, grabbing my arm and pulling me down the hallway.

"Okay, let's just start checking rooms," I suggested.

"Good idea," she replied, and we each took one side of the hallway. I opened one door and poked my head in.

"Sorry!" I replied. "Not in here."

"Not in this one either," Sam said, walking down the hall and checking another room. "Not in...AAAH! Oh my god!" She slammed the door shut and leaned against it, looking fearful.

"What?" I asked, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"I just saw a head!" she whined.

I was confused. "A head?"

"Yeah, like...coming out of the mother...oh my god that's a lot of blood. Is that normal? Is that what's supposed to happen?"

I smirked at her. "Still in a hurry to have Freddie's baby?"

"Um...wow. That's a lot of blood," she said again. "Like...a lot."

I shrugged. "Women have been doing it since the beginning of time."

"Men have it so easy," Sam grumbled. "Okay, I don't think she's on this hallway, let's check another one."

We walked down the hall, turning onto another one, and as we did we passed the large expanse of windows in front of the nursery, where all the newborns were housed.

"Aw, Sam, look!" I pointed. "Look at all of them."

"Awwww!" Sam cooed, pressing her face against the glass. "They're so damn cute!" She continued to stare. "Look, they have little hats...blue ones and pink ones...awwww..."

I rolled my eyes. Guess the sudden shock of seeing the miracle of birth had passed, Sam was back to having baby fever. "Sam..." I said, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her away, but she didn't budge. "Sam, come on..."

"I want one..." she said. "Look at them..."

"You cannot steal a baby, Sam!"

"I'll bring it back!"

"Sam!" I scolded her, trying not to laugh. "Come on!"

Sam nodded slowly, continuing to stare at the newborns. "You're right. None of those kids would have Freddie's nerd genes anyway...you know, I hate to brag, but I'm not hideous, and Freddie's drop dead gorgeous...we're gonna have some pretty kids, man."

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I know."

"I hope they get Freddie's eyes."

"Let's go, Sam...remember my niece? The one who's life hangs in the balance?"

Sam nodded, breaking out of her trance. "Sorry. Let's go."

We headed off down the hallway, stopping at two double doors. "Critical Neo-Natal. This has gotta be it."

"Yeah," I said softly.

"Nervous?" Sam asked, looking at me, and I nodded.

"I wish we didn't have to be here."

"I know, Carls," Sam said, throwing an arm around me and hugging me a bit. "But they'll be fine. You know April's family can afford to have any doctor in the world flown here in a heartbeat."

"True," I said with a nod. "Okay, let's go. Fingers crossed."

We pushed open the double doors, heading down the hallway nervously. My heart was pounding the entire time, and I couldn't stop fidgeting. Or worrying. The two tended to go hand in hand. I was so, so scared for my brother right now. I couldn't imagine how scary it could be to lose a child.

"I don't really feel right about poking my head in doors here," I said softly, and Sam nodded. "But how do we figure out what room they're in."

"Hold on..." Sam replied, eyeing the nurse's desk. "If you see a real nurse, create a diversion."

"Diversion?"

"Well, Brad ran through the hallway screaming like a maniac the last time we had to do something like this..." she stated, and I rolled my eyes.

"I am not doing that, Sam! I don't even know the words to 'Lovely Bunch of Coconuts'!"

"Just improvise!" she replied, diving behind the desk and grabbing a clipboard. "Okay," I heard her mumble. "Shay...Shay...Shay...where are you...BINGO! Room Thirteen E!"

I pointed, feeling my heart catch in my chest. "It's there!"

Sam slammed the clipboard down on the desk and rushed to my side, looking to where I was pointing. "Let's go!"

We started to run, but we both managed to calm ourselves before we reached the door. It wouldn't a good idea to run in, in a panic. That might upset Spencer and April worse. I placed my hand on the knob and took a deep breath, before slowly opening the door.

"Spencer?" I asked, sticking my head in the door. Spencer was there, he had his back to me, leaning over April's bed, but he turned around when he heard my voice.

"Carly!" he said. I looked at his face; there didn't seem to be any fear or anxiety in his eyes like before, and they traveled over me and Sam, and he made a face. "What the hell are you guys wearing? Scrubs?"

"We were doing re-con," I said, and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Brad is so rubbing off on you."

I ignored her, focusing on Spencer. "What's going on?"

Spencer didn't speak, just walked over to me and gave me a fierce hug. "It's okay. She's okay."

"April?"

"Well, yeah, April's fine, but SHE'S fine too! I texted Freddie, he and Brad are looking for you guys. But everything's great! She's perfect! There's nothing wrong with her! It's a miracle...oh my god...Carly..."

"Wait...SHE?" Sam and I cried, and Spencer nodded, stepping aside so we could see April, laying in the bed, holding their baby. She was really, really tiny, but like Spencer said, she was PERFECT. I felt all the tension and worry of the day leave my body, and intense emotion overtake me, my eyes welling up with tears.

"Guys," Spencer said. "Meet Maggie."

~*Brad*~

"This hospital is only so big, where the hell are they?" I yelled as Freddie and I stormed down the hallway.

"I dunno, they're not in cafeteria, so I'm out of ideas!" he replied, shaking his head. "This is bullshit. The baby's fine, and we can't even FIND the girls to let them know."

"Maybe we should go find Spencer's room?" I suggested. "They'll figure it out. The kid's fine, we're cleared to go in there, they can find out room info now."

Freddie nodded, still a little agitated. "Yeah, I guess that would be the best thing."

"Alright, let's go."

We headed for the maternity ward, and as we walked to Spencer and April's room, we passed this massive row of windows.

"Dude," I said. "Look, it's the nursery. That's a lot of babies."

"Yep," Freddie said, peering through the windows and staring for a second.

"Don't tell me Sam's baby fever is contagious," I said, poking him, and he just smacked my hand away.

"Shut up," he replied solemnly, seeming to be lost in thought.

"Freddie," I said. "I know you're married and in love and all that, but you're seventeen."

"I know," he replied. "But Sam and I won't be seventeen forever."

"Oh god, you guys are gonna start popping kids out like...on Sam's birthday, aren't you?"

Freddie shook his head. "Of course not. After grad school. We'll be twenty five. That's good, right?"

I shrugged. "I guess so. You guys are turning into old fuddy-duddies, you know that?"

"Shut up, we are not. We're just happy."

"I dunno man, my grandpa's happy, and he's old."

Freddie gave me a Look. "That's from the whiskey."

"Yeah, good point. Come on, dude, there's plenty of time for you and Sam to make babies, let's go check out Spencer's."

We continued to walk down the hallway, and I heard Freddie laugh. "What?"

"We're gonna wait to make babies, but in the meantime, we're gonna practice. Lots and lots of practice."

"Think you've got it down by now, dude."

"Hey man, even Mozart had to play piano every day to become a virtuoso."

I rolled my eyes. "You think you're a sex virtuoso?"

"Ask Sam," he said with a grin.

"Cocky son of a bitch," I muttered under my breath. He gave me a slight shove, and we just grinned at each other, continuing to walk down the hallway, until we reached April's room, pulling the door open.

"Spence, we couldn't find..." Freddie started, but trailed off when he saw Carly and Sam standing next to April's bed and looking down at the baby. "Sam! What...are you in scrubs?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Helloooo nurse," I said to Carly, giving her a low whistle. She just smiled at me, before standing up and hugging me.

"Look, she's fine," Carly said to me. "Isn't she gorgeous?"

"It's a girl?" I asked, and Carly nodded.

"Her name's Maggie," Spencer said. "Maggie Mae."

"Maggie Mae?" I asked, and April nodded.

"It was my grandmother's name. Well, technically it was Margaret, but everyone called her Maggie."

"Cool," I responded, leaning over to check out the baby. She was really small, but seemed healthy, with a pile of white blonde hair like April's, and Spencer eyes. Pretty cool. I looked over at Carly, who seemed to be immensely relieved, and I took her hand in mine. "Can we talk? Outside?"

"Sure," she said softly, following me into the hallway. I shut the door behind us, turning around to stare at her.

"So..." she said, and I cut her off by pressing my lips against hers, kissing her softly. "What was that for?"

"I love you, Carly. I don't want us to fight anymore."

She sighed, leaning against the wall. "Brad, I don't know what to do anymore...I mean, you're leaving. Should we even bother to stay together? Won't it be hard?"

"I don't care if it's hard, Carly! I love you!" I responded. "Please, don't break up with me."

"I don't want to," she said softly.

"Then don't!" I cried. "Honey, please..." I took her hands in mine. "I'll come back every single holiday, break, leave, whatever...we'll make it work, I promise. Don't do this to me. Please."

She stared at me, silent for a moment, before finally speaking. "I'm not going to break up with you," she said, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "But I don't know how to deal with all of this."

"I don't either, babe. But can we just...we're graduating in ten, technically nine days. Then we have the whole summer until I have to leave. Can we just...pretend?"

"Pretend what?"

"That I'm not leaving. Please? So we can have one good summer? Before I have to leave?"

She nodded a little. "Okay. I'll try."

"I mean it, Carly. I don't wanna talk about it, I don't wanna discuss it, I don't even wanna think about it! I just want to be with you, and not have to worry about anything...just give me that. Just give me the summer. Please, babe."

"Okay," she replied. "Okay."

"Thank you," I replied, pulling her to me. "I love you."

"I love you too, Brad," she said softly. "So much. I'm scared I'll never love anyone else as much as I love you."

"I don't want you to," I replied, and she nodded.

"I know. And I don't want to either."

I didn't want to say it then, it was just too early, and I wasn't willing to jump into anything so young like our best friends had, but I hoped to God Carly would never have to.


	89. Chapter 89: Don't Ever Change

**A/N: Aah! We're getting down the wire soon! I'll say it again, I've really enjoyed writing this, and I'm really happy it gained such a following! You guys rock! The response has been overwhelming, I'm gonna start to work on the sequel as soon as I wrap this story up! I am way too attached to these characters to just end it! Anyway, this chapter starts off with a bang...literally...lemon alert!**

**Chapter Eighty Nine:  
>Don't Ever Change<strong>

~*Sam*~

"Aaaaahhhh!" Carly screeched as she bounded down the stairs. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

I looked over at her and rolled my eyes. "You've been running around screaming like this for an hour, you know..."

Carly just grinned at me, bouncing up and down, not speaking, before she opened her mouth and let out another squeal of excitement.

"Aaaaahhhh!"

"Hey, baby?" I called to Freddie, who poked his head out of our bedroom.

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure thing, what do you need?"

"Can you hide the coffee?"

Freddie gave me a strange look. "Why?"

"AAAAHHHHH!"

I looked at Freddie pointedly. "That's why."

Freddie looked over at Carly, who was going absolutely apeshit, and then nodded. "I'm on it."

I tossed him the can of coffee, and as he dutifully went back into our room to put it away, I went back to focusing on my task of cooking. I never thought I'd be able to get the hang of it, but Brad had showed me a thing or two, and I was beginning to get it. Freddie was a picky eater to begin with, throw the diabetes into the mix, and you had a recipe for disaster – and a very skinny husband. Over my dead body would I let THAT happen. I loved Freddie for a lot more than his uber-sexy muscles, but let's face it, I was a very big fan of those.

"Okay, it's hid," Freddie said, walking out of our room and into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around me from behind. "What you got there?" he asked.

"Spaghetti sauce. Taste?" I held the spoon out, and he took it from me, tasting it, a serious expression on his face. "Well?"

"You made this...like...from scratch?"

"Mmhmm. What do you think?"

"I think you're a damn good wife, and not too bad of a cook either," he said with a smile, kissing me on my neck. "Oh, whoops."

"What?"

"I got sauce on your neck. Let me get that," he said, bending his head, and I sighed as I felt his tongue flicker across my skin.

"Baby," I sighed, leaning into him. "You keep doing that and I'm never going to finish."

"Sorry," he replied, his hands drifting down to my hips and pulling me against him more, grinding into me.

"Freddie," I warned, but he didn't let up. I was starting to feel a little flushed, and it wasn't from standing over the stove.

"What?" he murmured, kissing my neck again. "I'm not doing anything."

"Bullshit," I said, feeling my resolve cave, shivering suddenly when I felt him brush my hair aside and kiss the spot behind my ear. "Baby..." I whined as I felt his hands leave my hips and move higher, over my stomach and then cupping my breasts, kissing the back of my neck, continuing to grind against me.

"You wanna turn that down for a minute and come talk to me for a minute? In our room?" he murmured in my ear, and I smiled a little.

"Oh? What do you want to talk about?"

"Hmm," he replied. "We could talk about...how sexy I think you are..." he kissed my neck, sucking on it a little. "How much I want you right now..." One of his hands moved down my body slowly. "How much I NEED to be inside you right now..." I gasped as I felt his hand go between my legs, rubbing me. "How I want to..."

"AAAAHHHH!"

Freddie jumped suddenly, before glaring at Carly. "You are going to have to stop that!"

"I can't! Graduation, t-minus six hours! Aaaahhh!"

Freddie rolled his eyes, letting go of me to pull his phone out of his pocket. "That's it."

"What are you doing?" I asked, and he just shushed me, his phone against his ear.

"Brad? Where the hell are you, dude? Your girlfriend is encroaching on my private time here!" He paused. "Yeah, I know it's three in the afternoon! That's when we usually...hello? Brad?" He pulled his phone away from his ear. "Son of a bitch," he growled. "He better be here soon. I can't deal with her bouncing around like this for six more hours."

I shrugged. "It's just as well, I'm not done with this yet." I went back to fussing with the food. It was early, but Carly and Brad's graduation thing started at seven, I didn't want Freddie to go without food. It was kind of weird that it was Carly and Brad's graduation and not ours too, but that was our choice, to leave school, do things our own way. Doing things our own way seemed to be a recurring theme in our relationship, but like I said, it worked. I was happy. He was happy. And that was really all that mattered.

Of course, right now, he was just irritated. He hated when he was ready to go and I was busy with something. I had a pretty high sex drive, but Freddie's was just as high, possibly even higher, and that was saying something. Not that I was complaining; I loved his sex drive. I loved how he was always switched on and ready to go, no matter what time of day...morning, noon, night...middle of the night...any time. And he ALWAYS made it worth my while. There were no so-so times with us, every time was explosive, incredible, ridiculously hot, passionate. Whether we were slamming each other against walls and biting each other, or making love, sweet and slow, every single time was intense.

Okay, Sam, stop thinking about it. Focus on the spaghetti. You need to at least get it to simmering point before you abandon the sauce for your saucy husband. Lame joke, but it was true. Damn, he was making it really hard though, standing behind me and letting his hands roam all over my body. Did the boy WANT to starve?

"Freddie!" I hissed. "Give me just a second!"

"Baby, come on!" he whined, going back to kissing my neck. "I'm not even hungry right now!"

"You are NOT the only person I have to feed, nub! Remember?" I said pointedly, and his eyebrows went up, like he'd just remembered.

"Sorry, sweetheart, I forgot about..."

"Shush!" I yelled, whirling around to press my hand over his mouth. "You wanna let the cat out of the bag?" I looked over at Carly pointedly, who was still dancing around the living room like a crazy person. Yes, she was being annoying as hell, but we weren't being rude just to be rude, we had to make her think nothing was up. Even though something was. Something BIG. And she didn't have a clue.

Freddie nodded, before grabbing my wrist and pulling my hand off his mouth, giving it a kiss before dropping it. "Sorry. So when is Spencer supposed to be here?"

"In an hour, at least that's what he said when he texted me."

"And Melanie?"

"Same."

"Okay, well, in that case..." Freddie leaned over me to turn the stove down, putting a lid on the sauce, and I glared at him.

"Freddie!" I scolded him. "What the hell?"

"Let that simmer, if we only have an hour..." he grabbed the spoon out of my hand, setting it down on the counter, before picking me up.

"Freddie! Put me down, dammit! I wasn't done with that!"

"Don't care," he replied, carrying me into our room and throwing me on the bed. He shut the door and locked it, before turning to me. "I want you so bad it's making me crazy," he said, pushing me onto my back and coming over me, kissing me passionately, unbuttoning my shirt while continuing to kiss me. I moaned against his mouth, arching into him, gasping as he broke the kiss to lick over my collarbone.

"God," I whined. "I can't be mad at you when you do that..."

"Why do you think I keep doing it?" he replied with a smirk, reaching around behind me to unhook my bra. He pushed my shirt off my shoulders and then pulled my bra off the rest of the way, his hands going to my jeans, scrambling to unbutton them, before yanking them down my legs along with my underwear.

"Baby, you need to keep up," I reminded him, tugging at his shirt. He didn't respond, just grabbed my hips and yanked me to the edge of the bed, grabbing my legs and putting them on his shoulders, before lowering his head and licking over me. I let out a loud moan, my back arching as my hands went to his head, fingers curling through his hair. "Oh, GOD, Freddie...that feels soooo good..."

He didn't respond, just continued to lick all of my sensitive spots, alternating between slow and fast, just the way I liked it. One of the things I loved most was that he didn't stick to one routine, he was very unpredictable in bed. He had a few key moves that he'd learned through lots of experience were definite winners, but he improvised a lot too, always keeping me on the edge of my seat, always trying to surprise me. I tried to do the same with him, but I gotta say, at least in this department, he was a LOT more creative than I ever could be, and man, did I love it.

In no time at all, he had me shaking, squirming, my hips bucking up and down, moaning loudly.

"Baby..." I said. "Oh god...I...fuck...baby don't stop...I'm so close..." I was trembling uncontrollably, my hips jerking against my will. Oh man, I was right at the edge, completely lost in the sensations. I was so gone I hadn't even noticed, nor could I even begin to figure out how, but he'd gotten his jeans unzipped and pulled down, WHILE he was continuing to go down on me. Clever boy. He pulled away from me suddenly, and I growled at him, my impending orgasm being stopped in its tracks, but he didn't respond, just stood back up and thrust inside me.

"Oh, GOD!" I screamed, my hands gripping the sheets. "Damn...baby..."

"Catch you off-guard?" he asked with a grin, bending down to kiss me, and I nodded, unable to speak. "Mmm, good. You want it slow...or you want me to fuck you?"

I still couldn't respond, it felt sooo good. He kept switching between moving quickly and slowing down, trying to get me to choose how I wanted it.

"Baby, I asked you a question. You better answer me. Do I need to give you some motivation? Make you answer me?"

"No..." I gasped, arching my back. "Baby...you feel so good..."

"Make love to you, or fuck you, answer my question."

It made me so hot, so incredibly turned on, when he talked to me like that. He talked so dirty in the sack, I loved it.

"Sam?" he asked, slamming into me, and I groaned. "Well?"

"Oh god...Freddie...just fuck me, please..."

He grabbed my waist to move me back on the bed a little, before getting on himself, leaning down to lick and suck at my breasts, and I cried out, my hands tangling through his hair.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," he murmured against my skin. If I hadn't been so lost in how good he was making me feel, I would have rolled my eyes. He'd heard me loud and clear, he just LOVED hearing me say it.

"I said, I want you to fuck me. Please, baby...just fuck me..." I moaned a little as I felt him twitch inside me, obviously very turned on.

"I think I can do that," he said with a smirk, before withdrawing and flipping me onto my stomach, moving inside me again.

"Baby...oh you feel so good...don't stop..."

"Don't tell me what to do, baby. You know better than that," he growled, grabbing a handful of my hair and pulling my head back so he could kiss me fiercely, nipping at my bottom lip a little. Oh god, he was really fired up! He was so fired up he hadn't even bothered with his shirt and his boxers, he'd just taken his pants off and got down to business. I wasn't down with that, the shirt had to go!

"Baby..." I reached behind him and tugged at his shirt.

"What is it, sexy?" he replied, kissing my shoulder.

"Your shirt," I groaned. "Please..."

"You want me to take it off?"

"Please," I said, gasping as I felt him plunge into me again. "I need to feel your skin. Please..."

He sat up for a moment, before coming back down, his bare chest against my back, and I sighed. God, he felt good...

"Is that better, sweetheart?"

"Yes..." I moaned. "So much better."

"Good," he responded. "Mind if I go back to fucking you senseless now?"

"No..." I trailed off as I felt him pick up his pace, his hands grabbing my wrists and holding them down. I resisted a little, not because I wanted him to stop, but because it was fun, a little bit of resistance always spiced things up between us.

"Don't you dare try to get away from me," he growled, nipping at my shoulder.

"And what if I do?" I managed to gasp out, and he just laughed a little.

"You know what I can do."

"Do it," I challenged him, and without a moment's hesitation, he pulled away to turn me over on my back again, but he paused to pull his boxers off. Mmm, naked Freddie. Yum. In an instant he was back on top of me again, kissing me passionately.

"You're such a bad girl," he growled. "I fucking love it." With that, his hand went to my leg, moving it onto his shoulder, and I gasped as he moved deep inside me...oh man, I loved it when he went deep like that...it was as close as he could possibly be...it was so incredible.

"Oh god, baby...please don't stop...oh god...don't stop..." I moaned, gripping his shoulders tightly.

He did stop though, and I growled at him again, but he just smirked at me, holding onto me and laying back so I was on top of him, holding onto my hips and moving me against him. I cried out, leaning back, my arms going behind me to hold myself up as he continued to grind me against him. I moved my hips up and down, and in no time at all, I didn't have to make a conscious effort to do so, my body took over, and I couldn't control the way I bucked and moved against him.

"Damn, baby..." he groaned, his head going back. "Yeah, that's it...damn you're so good...fuck..."

"Baby, you feel so good!" I cried out. "Aaah!"

"Gonna come for me, baby," he asked, looking up at me, one of his hands moving to my center to rub me, pushing me closer to the edge.

"Yes!" I moaned. "Oh god, yes..."

"Come on...let me feel it...come on baby...come for me...come on..."

"Aaaahhh...Freddie...oh god...baby...shit..." I hissed, trying in vain to control myself, my head hanging back as I moved against him faster and faster. "Yes...oh fuck...yes...yes...AAAAHHHH! Freddie!" I sat back up before collapsing against him, shaking uncontrollably as I felt my body go over the edge. "Ohhh...oh god..."

"Mmm...there you go...feel good?" he murmured in my ear, kissing my neck. I nodded, burying my face in his shoulder, still riding out the sensations.

"Oh, god..." I moaned.

"Another?" he asked.

"Yes..." I managed to gasp out.

"Don't move," he replied, his hands going to my hips, grinding me against him. I felt him lift up a little bit, and I moaned, sinking my teeth into his shoulder. "Shit," he hissed. "Little wildcat." He started moving me against him in a slow circle, getting me closer and closer to the edge.

"Oh, god..." I whimpered. "Don't stop. Please."

"Beg me," he responded stoically, and I acquiesced, continuing to moan into his shoulder.

"Please don't stop, baby...please...it feels so good..."

"Don't stop what?" he asked, kissing my neck.

"Don't stop fucking me," I whispered. "Please..."

"Why?"

"Because...I want..."

"You want?"

"I want you to make me come, please..."

"Yeah?" he asked, moving me against him faster. "Like that?"

"Yes, just like that. Please..." I moaned.

"Tell me when you're gonna go."

"Okay," I responded. He continued moving in and out of me, and all I could do was hold onto him for dear life. Oh man, I know we'd had a lot of practice, but DAMN, he was so GOOD at this! He knew all the right ways to please me and tease me and drive me crazy...oh my god. This felt so good...I couldn't even think it was so good. What was my name again?

"Freddie," I whimpered, my arms going around his neck. "Baby, I'm so close...oh god...I...aaahh...Freddie..."

"You almost there?" he replied.

"Yes...I...aah!" I squeaked in surprise suddenly as he rolled us over and began moving in and out of me at a furious pace, faster and faster, driving me closer and closer to the edge. I arched against him, my thighs trembling, and my eyes rolled back into my head as I felt myself go over the edge all over again.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, oblivious to anything else, including how loud I was being.

"Shit..." he groaned, not slowing down one bit. "Fuck, baby...you feel so good...oh god...I...SHIT!" he hissed as he went over the edge too, burying his face in my neck. "Damn, baby!"

I closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath, moaning a little as he withdrew and collapsed next to me, breathing heavily.

"Oh, man..." he groaned. "That was so good."

I still couldn't speak, just nodded a little in agreement. He lifted his head to brush his lips across mine.

"Feel better?" I asked, looking over at him, and he nodded emphatically.

"Oh yeah," he replied. "How about you?"

I laughed a bit. "Amazing, as always. If there was some kind of award for this sort of thing, I guarantee you'd win it."

He just smirked a little. "Nah, I think you'd give me a run for my money, baby."

I shrugged. "Maybe," I replied, rolling over to lay my head on his shoulder, my hand trailing up and down his bare chest.

We laid there for a few minutes, trying to catch our breath and come back down to earth. I loved how I felt afterwards, high off endorphins, it almost felt like I was drunk.

"How much time do we have?" I asked, and he rolled his head to the side to look at the clock. "About thirty minutes."

"Shit," I said, sitting up. "I gotta finish dinner."

"Need some help?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"No, I'm fine. Besides, maybe you should rest. You just exerted a lot of energy."

"That I did," he said with a grin, and I leaned down to kiss him.

"Love you."

"Love you more, baby."

I shook my head. "No way."

"Well, let's just agree to disagree then," he replied, before sitting up to get dressed. I did the same, and we walked out of our room a moment later to see Brad and Carly sitting at the counter, glaring at us.

"What?" Freddie gruffed, and Brad just rolled his eyes.

"Trying to break the sound barrier?" Brad replied, and Freddie shrugged.

"You're just jealous you can't make Carly scream like that."

"Freddie!" Carly exclaimed. "What the hell?"

"Yeah dude, what the hell? I can totally make Carly scream like that..OWW!" Brad hollered as Carly whacked him in the chest. "I'm just saying!"

"Well don't say it," Carly replied, irritated. "That's private!"

"Okay, anyway..." I said with a roll of my eyes. "Sorry if we were bothering you guys, I figured you'd still be dancing around the apartment, Carls."

Carly shrugged. "Brad calmed me down a little," she said, blushing a little. I nodded.

"Good man," I said. "Now, back to the spaghetti issue."

"Need some help?" Brad asked, standing up, and I shrugged.

"Tell me what you think of this," I responded, gesturing towards the sauce. Brad walked over to the stove, grabbing the spoon and tasting a little. "So what do you think?"

"Needs more oregano. And maybe just a bit more garlic."

"Really?" I asked, making a face. "I thought the garlic was fine!"

"Just trust me," he replied. "In fact, how much time do we have?"

"About half an hour," I responded.

"Perfect, let me show you a trick. Get me the garlic," he said, pulling a roll of tin foil out of the drawer, and Freddie gave us the evil eye.

"Okay, the last time you two had vegetables and tin foil together, I ended up with a broken car window, so where is this going?"

"Chill, Fredward," Brad stated, grabbing the head of garlic out of my hand, slicing off the top of the whole thing and wrapping the tinfoil around it. "Crank that oven up."

"To what?" I asked, and Brad shrugged.

"Highest it will go."

"Five hundred?"

"Should do just fine," he replied, before opening the oven door and putting the foil wrapped garlic inside. "Leave that in there for fifteen minutes, then take it out, mush it up, in the sauce. Trust me, it'll be bangin'."

"Okay," I said uncertainly. "You screw up my sauce I'm gonna to beat you to death with your own shoe."

"You won't have to," he replied.

I shrugged. "Time will tell. At least you're wearing Doc Martens so it'll be a quick death."

Brad just rolled his eyes at me, before walking over to the couch.

~*Carly*~

"Holy hell," I heard Sam say as she hovered over the stove. "Okay, Brad, I totally retract my previous statement, this is ridiculous."

Brad just gave her a triumphant look. "And you all said watching cooking shows made my sexuality questionable."

"Okay, fine," Sam replied with a roll of her eyes. "You are the man. Happy?"

"Yup," Brad replied, looking down at his watch. He'd been doing that for the past fifteen minutes, and so had Freddie. It was only four in the afternoon, so I had no idea what that was about. I also had no idea why Sam had started making dinner so early in the day. Something was off.

I heard a knock at the door, and I stood up. I was so anxious and excited about graduation, it was hard to stay still. I pulled the door open, grinning at the carbon-copy of my best friend.

"Hey, Mel!" I greeted her.

"Hey, fellow graduate!" she replied with a big smile, hugging me. "What's up?"

"Being on pins and needles," I responded. "Sam's in the kitchen."

"Why?" Melanie asked, making a face.

"Sam's started cooking."

"Wait, you let her around fire?"

"I heard that!" Sam yelled from the kitchen. "And I'm moderately offended!"

"Since when do you do anything in moderation?" Melanie replied with a grin, walking into the kitchen and giving her sister a hug. "What are you cooking?"

"Spaghetti."

"Oh," Melanie said with a roll of her eyes. "Well that's not too impressive, you just open a jar!"

"Bite your tongue, Mel!" Freddie said from his spot at the counter. "Sam made that from scratch."

Melanie's eyes widened. "No shit?'

Sam nodded, shrugging a bit. "There's sugar in jarred sauce, so..."

"Aw, look at you being a good little wifey," Melanie cooed. "That's so sweet."

"She's the perfect wife," Freddie commented. "You know, except for the whole laundry thing."

Sam glared at him. "I do everything else, I think you can handle the laundry."

"I'm not complaining, baby."

"You better not, or no spaghetti for you!" Sam threatened, before turning back to Melanie, who had hopped up on the counter. "So, did you narrow it down finally...hands off the breadsticks, Mellow-Me!"

"Sorry," Melanie said with a shrug. "And yeah, I did. Meredith College."

"Where the hell is that?" Freddie asked.

"North Carolina," Melanie replied.

"Why would you want to go to college there?" Brad asked, and Melanie shrugged.

"Well, it's an all girls school, so..."

"Ohhhh!" Everyone responded, and Melanie just made a face.

"They also have an excellent fashion merchandising program."

"I can't believe you're going to the opposite side of the country," Sam whined.

"Aw, puddin' pop! I'll come back on the holidays, I promise."

"So you and Carrie?"

Melanie shrugged. "Thing of the past. I'm going to the summer program at Meredith, so I'm out in two weeks."

"Melanie!" Sam cried. "What the hell? What about...me and Freddie's vow renewals?"

"Sorry, Sam! I'm tired of couch-jumping, I want to get into the dorms and not have to worry about that for a few years!"

Sam just grumbled a bit, fiddling with her sauce. "Fine. I just hate that we haven't even had a full year of...you know, being cool, and you're just bouncing again."

Melanie shrugged. "You know me, I go where the wind takes me. You used to be the same way."

Sam just glanced at Freddie before looking at her sister. "Not anymore," she said softly. "I'm happy where I am."

"Well, I'm glad you found something worth sticking around for," Melanie replied.

"Aren't I worth sticking around for, Mel?"

I couldn't help but glance over at Brad, my heart catching in my throat a little when I noticed he was looking at me too, the same way. Our eyes locked for a moment, before I looked at the floor. Okay, Carly. You promised. You can't talk about it. At all. You're going to pretend it's not happening. That was the agreement. I looked back over at the twins, who were in the middle of their own moment.

"Sam," Melanie said, her hand going to her shoulder. "I love you. And I'm so glad we're finally okay, but you have something to grab onto here. I don't. I'm still trying to find it. I have to find it. I have to go find myself. I'm just glad you already have, but I can't stay here. Seattle's not my home, it never has been."

"So what was your home?" Sam asked, and Melanie shrugged.

"I don't think I've ever had one. Holly Oaks was a resting place. The trailer park was something to run away from. And I've been bouncing around ever since. I gotta find SOMEWHERE I can be happy and safe."

Sam was quiet for a moment, and nodded solemnly. "I know. But any time you need to come back, you can stay with me and Freddie."

"I know, Sam," Melanie said, hopping off the counter and hugging her sister.

"Baby, you alright?" Freddie called to her, and Sam nodded.

"It's just weird, how much everything has changed, and how much it's still changing."

I had to agree with Sam on that, EVERYTHING had changed. I fell in love for the first time ever, I was eighteen years old, an adult, living without my brother, I was an AUNT. iCarly had been transformed from something we did for fun to a viable business, an extremely profitable business, and I was planning on making a career out of what I had learned from doing the show.

God, and let's not even TALK about how much things had changed for Sam and Freddie. Sam had escaped a horrible situation; after getting beaten and abused for most of her life, she was completely and totally in love, happy, had plans for her future...she was MARRIED! Freddie had gone from a slightly nerdy teenage boy who didn't do confrontations to...well, let's face it, a MAN, one who didn't hesitate to stand up to anyone, who was fiercely protective of his wife, and he'd somehow turned his mom from an overbearing psycho to a pretty cool, understanding mother and mother-in-law. Sam and Freddie. Both hopelessly screwed up on their own, but both of them together? Unstoppable, and totally blissful. I was happy for them, but I was still pretty sad about the whole Brad situation. I'd made up my mind though, even though we would be far apart, I was going to continue this relationship. I couldn't have made it through the past year without him. I was pretty sure he was the ONE.

I was brought out of my deep thoughts by a loud knock at the door, and I looked up in confusion. Who could that be?

"Carly, you wanna get the door?" Freddie asked, sort of rudely, and I looked at him strangely, before getting up and walking to the door, pulling it open.

"Spencer," I said, confused. "I thought you were meeting us at the Civic Center."

"Had to drop something off first," Spencer said with a grin.

"What?" I asked. I put my hands on my hips. "Did April go buy me another ridiculously expensive dress?"

"Not exactly," Spencer responded, looking to his right.

"Then what-" I started, but then I stopped dead in my tracks, my hands flying to my face in shock.

"Hi, honey!"

"DAD!" I shrieked, jumping into his arms and flinging my arms around his neck. "Oh my god! Daddy!" I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't, I just burst into tears, holding onto my father for dear life. I hadn't seen him in years, I barely even got to hear his voice. "Oh my god, oh my god!"

"It's okay, baby. It's okay." he whispered, hugging me back.

"When did you get here?" I asked, pulling away and wiping my tears away.

"About two hours ago," he replied. "Spencer picked me up, then we went by his place, I got to see my beautiful granddaughter, and now I'm here to see my beautiful daughter graduate."

"Oh my god!" I said, still in shock. "I can't believe...how did you get leave? Did the sub dock or something?"

"Yep," Spencer said. "You lucked out, kiddo."

"She didn't luck out, I'm the commanding officer, that big hunk of metal does what I want it to," my dad responded.

"Okay, well, come in!" I said, grabbing his arm and jerking him into the apartment. "You guys, look! It's my -" I turned around to find that Sam, Freddie, and Brad didn't look one bit surprised. "You guys knew about this, didn't you?"

"Surprise!" Sam said with a big grin. "You thought I was cooking THIS much food just for us?"

"Well, I mean, I don't know...I know how you like meatballs..." I said lamely, before turning back to my dad. "Daddy, this is Brad."

Brad stood up and shook his hand. "Colonel Shay, it's very nice to meet you."

"You can call me Stephen. It's great to meet you, Brad, guess you're the one that stole my little girl's heart."

"Um, I guess so..." he said nervously.

"He is," I told my dad. "He's also going to the Marine Academy in New York."

"Marine, huh?" my dad asked brightly. "Jarhead. Impressive."

"Yeah, well, my dad says Air Force guys are just a bunch of nerds," Brad responded with a grin. I looked at Brad in horror, but my dad just laughed.

"I've heard that once or twice myself."

I rolled my eyes, before pointing at Sam and Freddie. "You probably recognize them from iCarly, but that's Freddie, and over there is Sam."

"Wait, there's two of them," my dad said, confused.

"Oh, right, sorry, the one hovering over the sauce in the green shirt, THAT'S Sam, the other one's Melanie."

"Hi!" Freddie said brightly, but Sam just ran over and threw her arms around my dad, hugging him.

"Thanks for you help with the Bill situation", she said softly, and my dad nodded.

"Not a problem. We don't put up with that kind of business in the military. Child abusers or draft dodgers. You seem like you're held together pretty well though. Considering what happened."

Sam nodded. "I am. I mean, that guy over there," she pointed at Freddie. "He helped. A lot. And I'm very..." she made a face, trailing off. "What's the word I'm looking for, honey?"

"Demanding?" Freddie asked with a grin, and Sam gave him a withering glare.

"No."

"Resilient," Freddie said with a nod.

"Yes, that's it. Resilient," Sam replied.

"You seem like it," my dad nodded in appreciation.

"Okay, well, I guess Sam is finishing up dinner, we have to be at the Civic Center at seven..."

"Excited?" my dad asked, and I nodded, bouncing up and down animatedly.

"I'm so glad you're here, Daddy!" I said, hugging him again. "This is so perfect!" I stepped past my dad to thump Freddie on the ear.

"Ow! What was that for?" he hollered, and I shrugged.

"You were within reach, out of all you perpetrators. Keeping this a secret!" I scolded.

"It wasn't a secret, Carly, it was a surprise!" Sam replied. "Brad! Get your butt over here! I need your help with something!"

"You didn't throw the pork and beef ratio off on the meatballs, did you? Because it's way too late to fix that," Brad replied, walking into the kitchen, grimacing as Sam slapped a large block of parmesan into his hand.

"Grate," she said, before looking back over at me. "Good surprise?"

"Best surprise EVER!" I cried, hugging my dad again.

~*Freddie*~

"They all looked so damn cute in their little caps and gowns," Sam commented, laying across the couch with her head in my lap.

"Mmhmm," I replied, playing with her hair. "Pretty cool meeting Carly's dad. I'm sure he's having a blast right now with Maggie. You sure you didn't want to go to that party?"

Sam shrugged. "Just gonna be a bunch of people drinking. And you can't anymore."

"I don't mind if you drink, Sam."

"I know, but...if you can't do it, I don't wanna do it either," she responded. "Besides, I'm fine just the two of us, alone together. Carly and Brad will probably be out all night."

"Yeah, probably," I said.

Sam was quiet for a moment. "I'm kind of upset Mel's not gonna be here for the vow renewal. I really wanted her to."

"I know, sweetheart," I said, leaning down to kiss her. "But she wants to get her life started. We've already started ours."

Sam nodded, staring up at the ceiling, and I flicked at her nose a bit. "You're being way too serious."

"Sorry," she said, gazing at me. "I love you."

"I love you too, gorgeous."

"You don't regret like...not having the whole graduation thing, do you?"

I shook my head. "Not at all, baby. Let's see...graduation ceremony, lame after-party, or finish school a semester early, spend all my free time with my beautiful wife? I'm pretty damn sure I made the right choice. What about you? Any regrets?"

"No," Sam replied. "I mean, I didn't even think I'd finish high school anyway. And I got done early. How odd. And I'm going to college. It's so weird."

"But awesome?"

"But awesome," she agreed. We were both quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying being together, enjoying the quiet. We were both pretty, as other people liked to say, uppity, but when other people weren't around, we toned it down a lot, and we really loved our down time, when we didn't have to be anything other than Freddie and Sam.

"Hey, baby?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"Twenty nine days until we renew our vows, and then I get to tell you how much I love you, promise to love you for the rest of our lives, all over again."

Sam looked up at me, a happy, relaxed smile on her face. "I know. I can't wait."

"Got yours written out yet?"

Sam shrugged, grinning. "Maybe. How about you?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe." I leaned down to kiss her.

"You better not put anything in there about my boobs, you know," Sam warned me.

"I'm not," I said with a laugh. "You better not put anything in there about my biceps."

"Darn, now I gotta edit. But what about your package?"

"Oh, that's fine," I replied with a grin. "Feel free to brag about that."

"I already do brag, and you get self-conscious!" Sam said with a smirk. "And you so shouldn't, because it's fabulous."

"Aren't you afraid that all that bragging's gonna convince other girls to go after me?"

Sam shook her head. "Well, I'd snap their necks, so...yeah. Not too concerned."

"Alright, baby," I laughed. "Let's go to our room."

"Why?" she replied. "I'm comfortable."

I shrugged. "No reason. Just thought you may want a massage."

Sam's eyes widened, before she sat up quickly. "I'm up!" she replied, before grinning at me mischievously. "But I have any idea."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You massage me first, with that massage oil we just got, all over. And then all do the same."

"Yeah, but...then we'll be all slippery, and..." I trailed off when Sam looked at me pointedly. "Oh. Oh damn. Damn that's a good idea! I love your brain!" I stood up, grabbing her arm and pulling her off the couch. "Get your sexy ass in there!"

I led her into our bedroom, shutting the door, before pulling her to me, kissing her passionately.

Damn, I LOVED this girl. Damn, I LOVED our life.


	90. Chapter 90: In Spite of All the Danger

**A/N: LOL, I read some of the reviews, I truly and honestly was NOT trying to give the impression that Sam was pregnant in the previous chapter! I mean, I can see it now, but at the time, I wasn't trying to even hint at it. Oops! Anyway, just so you know, this right here is the NEXT to last chapter, meaning one more chapter and this story is COMPLETE, and then it's sequel time! Hope you guys like it! Oh yeah, lemon alert, also uber-romance alert lol. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Ninety:  
><strong>**In Spite of All The Danger **

~*Sam*~

"Oh, my god," I said, leaning back in the chair a bit. "I am so nervous right now."

"Sit up," Carly reminded me, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me forward. "I can't do your hair if you're sitting on it."

"Sorry," I grumbled, making a face.

God, I couldn't believe the day was FINALLY here, Vow Renewal Day, and I couldn't believe how nervous I was. I just wanted everything to be perfect! I had so much nervous energy coursing through me right now it was ridiculous, and April and Carly were beginning to get irritated with me, hovering around me trying to help me get my hair and makeup just so.

"Stop making those faces," April chided me, coming at me with liquid eyeliner. "I'm gonna screw up your eye makeup."

"I feel like a Barbie doll," I complained.

"And you're gonna look like one when we get done!" April responded gleefully.

"Please don't say that to her, she'll go running off into the woods behind your house and we'll never see her again!" Carly told April, grabbing my shoulders and squaring me off again. "Hold still, Sam! I'm gonna burn your hair off if you don't!"

"Don't you dare!" I cried. "Freddie will kill you!"

"It wasn't a threat, it was a risk assessment! I can't fix your hair if you keep squirming!"

"Oh my god," I whined. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Sam, chill out," Carly said, patting me on the head. "You'll be fine. I can't believe you're so nervous, it's Freddie!"

I sighed, staring straight ahead. "I know. I just want this to go perfectly."

"And it will! And oh my god, the dress! It's just gorgeous! You and Mel did a great job picking it out."

I nodded, trying to calm myself down, reaching for my water bottle and lifting it to my lips.

"Wait!" April cried, yanking the water bottle of my hands and putting a straw in it, before handing it back to me. "You'll mess up your lipgloss!"

"Please, Freddie's just gonna smudge it off anyway," Carly teased.

"What if I screw up my vows?" I asked. I'd committed the whole thing to memory, but there was still a possibility I'd get nervous and stumble over my words.

"Sam, you'll be fine," Carly reassured me. "You'll take one look at Freddie and all those words will just come spilling out, and it'll be great."

"In front of people," I replied.

"Not that many people," Carly stated. "Eleven. Well, twelve if you count Freddie. But not that much. I dunno why you guys settled on such a small number."

"Just people who matter," I replied with a shrug.

Carly poked me in the ribs. "Aw, you finally admitted that Gibby matters!"

I rolled my eyes. "He kind of does, I guess. He was present during the whole...Bill-bash scenario. He got arrested for me. I guess I could throw the kid a bone and be sort of nice."

"Knock knock," we heard a voice say, and I looked up to see Spencer walking in, carrying Maggie.

"Hey baby," April said with a smile, kissing Spencer. "Hey, my other baby." She bent down and kissed Maggie on her forehead.

"Awww!" I cried. "Look at little Maggie! She looks so pretty!"

Maggie indeed looked adorable in her little light green sundress, white tights, and a matching white sweater, with a little green bow in her hair. She was one of the cutest babies I'd ever seen...I loved holding her. She was still so small, even for a little one month old baby, but she was healthy, and I guess she was happy. She rarely cried, but then again, Spencer and April rarely put her down, and her little bassinet was right next to their bed. I was amazed at how easily Spencer took to this whole fatherhood thing, but then again, he was a kid at heart, so it made sense.

"Doesn't she?" Spencer said with a grin. "I just fed her, she should be good for awhile."

"How does Sam's makeup look?" Carly asked, and Spencer leaned over to look at my face.

"Wow," he stated. "Sam, you look really pretty. Freddie's gonna freak."

"Are you sure it's not too much?" I asked nervously, my hand going to my face, but April grabbed my hand and jerked it down.

"Ah! Smudges!" she cried. "Don't touch!"

"It's not too much, Sam. You look really good. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were nervous."

"Well, obviously you don't know much," I snapped. "Because I'm nervous as hell."

Spencer shrugged. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Freddie's nervous too. I just saw him, he's freaking out."

My eyebrows went up. "He is?"

"Yep. He's afraid he's gonna make a mistake and screw the whole thing up."

"Aw, you guys think alike!" Carly said with a grin. "Look on the bright side, there's a good chance you'll both screw up, and then you'll both be even."

I stared at her with a horrified expression on my face. "Oh my god, you are NOT helping, Shay! Oh god!" My head hung down. "Oh god!"

"Is she having a panic attack?" Spencer asked worriedly, and Carly looked at him nervously.

"Maybe...Sam?"

I wasn't even looking at her, I was staring at Spencer and April's expensive marble floors, kicking my legs back and forth nervously, muttering to myself.

Spencer sighed, looking over at his sister. "Carly, get my phone, it's in my jacket pocket."

"Okay, why?" she asked.

"Call Freddie," he said, and Carly nodded.

"Good idea." She grabbed Spencer's phone, pulling up Freddie's number and dialing it. A moment later, she started to talk. "Hey, Freddie. Sam's freaking out. None of us can reason with her. Talk her down? Yep. Here she is," Carly said, before handing the phone to me. "Sam. Talk to your husband."

"Ah! Your makeup!" April exclaimed, but Carly shushed her.

"We'll fix it in a minute," she replied, and I took a deep breath, putting the phone to my ear.

"Hi."

"Hey, baby. You okay?"

I was silent for a moment.

"Talk to me, baby. Tell me where your head's at."

"I'm nervous," I said softly.

"Why are you nervous, sweetheart?" Freddie asked, and I shrugged, despite the fact that he couldn't see me through the phone. It was weird, he was just upstairs, but there was that whole thing about him not seeing me before the ceremony, so I was talking to him on the phone instead. We rarely talked on the phone, because we were always together, but hearing his voice did make me feel somewhat better.

"I don't know. I don't want to make a mistake."

"It's okay. I'm a little nervous myself. But you'll be fine. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course I'm sure! My sweet, sweet baby, don't worry, everything will be..." he paused suddenly, before yelling into the background. "Brad, shut up!" I heard Brad yell something at him, and I could hear Freddie grumble a bit, before returning back to our conversation. "It's okay, baby. I promise it'll be fine. I can't wait to see you. I bet you look really pretty. Everyone's here, Uncle Milton's ready to go..."

"Okay," I said. "Well, I'm still trying to get ready..."

"Take your time, sweetheart. No rush."

"Did you take your shot?" I asked.

"Yep. I'm good to go," he replied. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby," I said. "So much."

"Try to relax, okay? Stop thinking about it as something you have to do perfectly. It's not about that. It's about us. You and me. Forget everything else. It's just you and me, okay?"

"You and me. Got it," I said. "Thanks, baby. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Freddie responded. "Just relax. I'll see you soon."

"Okay," I said. "I love you."

"I love you too, my sweet sweet baby. I'll see you soon. Bye." Before he hung up, I heard him start yelling at Brad again, and then the line went dead. I rolled my eyes. Brad LOVED to give Freddie crap about his nickname for me, and it was a little annoying. 'My Sweet Sweet Baby' was way better than Brad's usual 'babe' moniker he used for Carly, but whatever. I was so not in the mood to be annoyed at Brad. I'd find a creative way to take it out on him later, but for now, I really had to finish getting ready.

"Okay, I think we're about done here," April said as she fixed the powder on the side of my face I'd had the phone against. "Spencer, shoo, so Sam can get her dress on."

"Okay," Spencer replied. "Me and Maggie will be waiting. Sam, relax," he said. "I know it's nerve-wracking. When April and I got married, I almost threw up!"

"I knew it!" I cried. "Me and Brad totally called it, during the ceremony! We even had our phones out to video it, but Freddie wouldn't let us!" A look of horror crossed my face. "Oh god, what if I ralph?"

"You're not gonna ralph, Sam!" Carly cried. "Relax! Just get dressed!"

I sighed, taking a deep breath before standing up, walking over to where my dress was hanging up and pulling it off the hanger, before stepping behind the little Asian-esque room divider April had placed in there.

Okay, well despite all my nervousness, I knew I looked good in the dress. I hadn't planned on a strapless, but this dress was just so perfect! Carly had fixed my hair so it was half up and half down, and it showed off my shoulders, which Freddie spent a great deal of time kissing and touching, and I still had my long hair displayed. Everybody was aware of Freddie's obsession with my hair. Two birds, one stone. The dress came a few inches above my knees, and it was an empire waist, the top part being lace, no glittery or sparkly crap, and the bottom was chiffon. No jewelry other than my ring, and of course, the I Hate You/I Love You bracelet Freddie gave me for Christmas. I put on my shoes, a pair of white stiletto sandals, and I briefly wondered if I would trip over them.

"Sam! Get your butt out here! Let's see it!"

"Oh my god!" I hollered. "I am so damn nervous!"

"You can't swear in a wedding dress!" April called, and I rolled my eyes, before stepping out from behind the divider.

"Well?" I asked nervously, smoothing my dress out, and April and Carly just gaped at me, their mouths hanging open. "You guys?"

Still nothing!

"Oh my god, you're making me nervous!" I whined. "Do I look that bad?"

"Sam! No! Oh my god! I can't believe how gorgeous you look!" Carly cried. "You look SO good!"

"You really think so?" I asked.

"You look AMAZING, Sam!" April reassured me. "Oh my gosh!"

"What about the shoes?" I asked. "What if I trip?"

"Sam...I have seen you on more than one occasion in heels higher than that, standing on one leg, dance-humping Freddie in the middle of a club, so I don't think balance is going to be an issue for you," Carly said pointedly.

"Okay," I replied. "I can't believe how nervous I am! It's almost silly!"

"Well, you'll be fine," Carly responded, adjusting my hair a little bit. "You look beautiful. Freddie's jaw is gonna hit the ground!"

"What if my vows are too cheesy?" I asked, and Carly rolled her eyes.

"Sam, enough excuses. It's time."

My eyes widened. "It is?"

"Yep. Let's go."

"Wait, one more thing," April said, before spritzing me down with a bottle of expensive-looking perfume. "There. NOW it's time."

"Oh god," I moaned, trying to steady myself.

"Are you gonna be okay, Sam?" Carly asked. "This isn't like you."

"I just...can you guys give me a minute? Alone?"

Carly looked at April nervously, and she shrugged.

"Um, okay...we'll be right outside, just come out when you're done. Everyone's outside waiting already."

I nodded. "Okay. I just need a second."

Carly nodded, before giving me a quick hug and scooting out the door, along with April. I stood in the middle of the room, trying to take a deep breath, and I walked over to the full-length mirror, staring at myself.

Wow, I really did look pretty. Probably a lot better than the day we'd tied the knot for real, in that wifebeater and jeans and practically no makeup, my hair a mess. He'd been willing to marry me then, why wouldn't he be willing to renew our vows now with me all dolled up?

I couldn't believe exactly one year ago, we'd been standing in his Uncle Milton's office, exchanging vows. We knew each other, but we knew each other differently. He knew me as Sam, the crazy juvenile delinquent who terrorized him, but he still had the hots for, and he didn't know why. I knew him as Freddie, the nerd who held the video camera that I'd made fun of for years, but I still had the hots for, and I didn't know why. I just knew I wanted him, even though he made me crazy.

I'd been so, so lost up until that point, and so scared of everything, I had to just be a total bitch to everyone around me. Be tough, hurt everyone before they had a chance to hurt me. I didn't even know who that girl was anymore, she was a stranger to me now. Sam Puckett, that poor, angry, hurt little girl, had disappeared a long time ago. I was Samantha Benson now. I wasn't angry anymore. And I wasn't hurt. I wasn't so down on myself all the time, now I had an actual future.

And it all came from being with Freddie. He changed everything for me. He changed ME.

I suspected that until the day I died, Sam Puckett would be buried deep down inside me somewhere, that hurt, frightened little girl, but she didn't exist when I was with Freddie. And I was determined, until the day I died, to never let him get away from me. I loved him so much, I didn't ever want him to leave, and I didn't want Sam Puckett to ever come back.

I looked down at my ring, and my bracelet, smiling a little bit to myself, before looking up at myself in the mirror one more time, giving my reflection a confident nod, before turning around and walking to the door, pulling it open. April and Carly were leaning against the wall, waiting, but they straightened up when they saw me.

"Okay," I said. "I'm ready."

~*Carly*~

"Hi," I said to Brad in a low voice as I slid into the seat next to him, giving him a quick kiss.

"Hey," he said. "Sam okay? I heard she went mental..."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, she was freaking out, but she seems to be okay now...how's Freddie?"

"Um...still a bit of basket-case, but he should be fine," Brad replied.

I leaned over Brad to punch Gibby in the shoulder. "Hey Gibs. Nice suit."

"Thanks!" Gibby said brightly. "I can't believe Sam actually let me come!"

"She's been very...lovey..the last couple of months."

"I'm still not convinced Freddie isn't drugging her," Brad commented.

"I dunno, I just think she doesn't have anything to be angry about anymore, and she knows that," I replied. "Hey, Tasha, nice dress!"

"Thanks!" she said brightly. "I saw Maggie! She's really cute...Aunt Carly!"

I beamed, it was so cool being called that, and my niece was the prettiest little thing I'd ever seen! I loved little Maggie to death, and I was so, so glad that little girl had come out so perfect! I looked around briefly. It was just me, Spencer and April with little Maggie, Brad, Gibby, Tasha, Freddie's mom, Dr. Robert, whom Mrs. Benson was absolutely crazy about, and Freddie's Uncle Milton, that was it. Super, super small, but if that's what Freddie and Sam wanted, who was I to judge?

I gave Freddie a little wave as he stood next to his Uncle Milton. Aw, look at him in his suit, he looked so cute. Oh my god though, he did look nervous! What was wrong with those two, this was the SECOND time they'd done this! At least Sam had managed to calm herself a little bit.

Of course, I had to laugh a little, because even though Sam had wanted a "real" wedding, in typical Sam fashion, she'd tweaked it a little bit. No walking down the aisle, she said, because it was cheesy, and there weren't that many people, so there wasn't much of an aisle. But she had her little bouquet April and I had made for her, out of some big beautiful white lilies from April's garden.

I elbowed Brad sharply in the ribs, and he let out a yelp. "Look, there's Sam!" I cried happily as Sam walked over to where Milton and Freddie were standing, and it was almost comical, the expression on Freddie's face. He looked like he'd been hit over the head with something, absolutely stunned! Sam gave him a shy smile, and he returned it. He couldn't stop staring at her. They couldn't stop staring at each other. It was adorable and incredibly romantic.

"Well," Milton said, looking at all of us. "We are gathered here today, to witness the vow renewal of Freddie and Sam. A year ago, these two were in my office, desperate to work out a tough situation, and I decided to help them out. Now, a year later, they've asked me to officiate their vow renewal, and I can see in their eyes, just how far these two have come along since then. Sam, Freddie," he said, and they both broke away from each other's gaze to look at Milton. "A year ago, when you two were in my office, I saw puppy love. But today, I see something much different. This is the real deal." Freddie nodded, looking back at Sam, and Uncle Milton continued.

"They've elected to write their own vows this time. Sam, why don't you go ahead?"

Sam took a deep breath, staring at Freddie, and he gave her an encouraging smile, taking her hand in his, his eyes never leaving hers, and he gave her a nod, as if to say, 'Go ahead'.

I had no idea WHAT Sam was going to say, none of us did, these vows they'd had were top secret, and I was very curious about what they would say to each other. If anyone so much as sneezed right now, I would totally punch them!

One more deep breath, and Sam began to speak.

"I've never been really good with talking about this sort of thing. Growing up, I was always discouraged from talking about my feelings. So I let them build up, and I took my frustration out on other people. And I pushed everyone away. Nobody ever fought back. Not once. Until I met you, when we were twelve. And MAN, did you fight back! You pushed my buttons, you called me names, you handcuffed to a nerd!" she laughed, and they both looked at Gibby, before laughing. I couldn't help but reach over and poke Gibby, who just gave me a smile, before focusing my attention back on Sam and Freddie, as Sam continued to talk.

"At first, I hated you. I even remember saying once that I loved to hate you. All the stuff that was going in my life, I was so angry, and you were always around for me to take my frustration out on, and you always handed it right back to me. Oh man, I loved to hate you so much! But then I figured it out," she said, and her face took on a serious expression. "I was just scared. All that hatred was a cover-up. I didn't love to hate you, I hated loving you!"

Sam stopped for a second, and I heard her sniffle, like she was holding back tears, but Freddie just lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing it, and she smiled at him, continuing.

"Everyone else I cared about just pushed me away, and I was so scared that if I started loving you, and if you found out, you'd leave too. If I really needed you, you'd throw me away like everyone else! But then life happened, bad stuff happened. I could hide it anymore, that I needed you. But you proved me wrong. You know, because you've always gotta be right." She smirked at him, and he just shook his head, smiling a little.

"You didn't leave me. You wouldn't accept me pushing you away. You chased after me! And then, you were just there! No matter what, no matter how crazy I acted, how unstable, you were there. And you didn't hurt me, like everyone else. And even more to the point, you wouldn't let me hurt myself anymore. I had these walls built up. Huge walls. But you just tore them down, and you helped me build up something better. Because of you, I'm happier, safer, and I'm at peace with myself. You gave me something I never had before. You didn't just love me, you made me love myself, and I will be forever grateful for that." Sam lost her battle with trying to maintain her composure finally, and she started to cry.

"I love you. You are EVERYTHING to me, Freddie. I will live, and I will die for you, and I will never, ever let you go. I love you."

"Awww..." I whispered to Brad. "Did you hear that? That's gotta be the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" I looked over at Brad, and I did a double take, my hand reaching up to the side of Brad's face. "Oh my gosh! That's a tear!"

"Shut up, it is not," he hissed. "I had something in my eye."

"Yeah, tears!" I said happily. "Awww...baby..."

"Stop it," he grunted. "Just listen."

I didn't respond, just gave him a grin before poking him in the side, focusing my attention back on Sam and Freddie, who didn't seem to be noticing anything going on except each other. Freddie leaned forward to brush the tears off Sam's face, going back to holding her hand, before taking a deep breath and beginning to speak.

"The first time I met you, you called me weak," he stated with a roll of his eyes. "I will never forget that, because it made me angrier than anything. Here I was, brand new in Seattle, in a new school, and this tiny little girl had zeroed in on me, and made me a target. Now, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have done anything, but I reacted to that, and that started five incredibly tumultuous years of you and I, going at it like it was World War III. You drove me absolutely nuts! And what made me the maddest was that I couldn't STOP thinking about you. Since the day I've met you, I've never been able to get you out of my head, Sam. There were...other...crushes. But they were just...cover ups. Decoys. Not a single day has gone by where I haven't thought about you. Not a single night went by without me laying awake at night thinking about you, mostly trying to figure out how to get back at you for whatever prank you pulled on me at the time." Sam laughed a little, and Freddie grinned at her. "But mostly what bugged me was you thought of me as weak. I've always felt weak. But for some reason, you saying it, out loud, THAT bothered me. And I think the reason I fought you so hard was because I was desperately trying to change your opinion on that subject. And that got me thinking, you know? Why do I care so much what this little blonde headed demon thinks of me?"

Sam bit her bottom lip, staring at him, and he gave her a sweet smile. "It was because I was in love with you. Desperately in love with you. I just didn't want to show it. I figured you'd take it as another sign of weakness. But then, these horrible, awful things happened, and the worst circumstances just kind of threw us together. And you needed my help. I had to protect you. I didn't know how I was gonna do it, but I just knew that no matter what, I had to protect you. Because I loved you. And I did everything I could do. And I will continue to do everything I can possibly do, to make sure you are protected, for the rest of our lives. Nothing is EVER going to hurt you as long as I'm around. And the cool thing is, I'm not doing it to prove anything. I know you don't think of me as weak. And I don't think of myself as weak. And once in awhile, on those rare occasions I do feel like it, you don't let those kind of ideas stick around for too long. You make me feel like a man. I've never felt that before, until you and I started down this crazy road we're on right now. You take care of me, and I take care of you. We take care of each other. You know, we're kind of a mess on our own, but together..." he shook his head. "We are absolutely unstoppable. And we are perfect. There is no one on this earth who could come close to making me feel the things you make me feel. I have never loved another person as much as I love you. You are my life. You are...my world. You are my everything. I am nothing without you." Freddie paused, sounding a little choked up, and then it occurred to me that they BOTH were crying now, staring at each other, both of them trying to maintain their composure.

"Sam, my sweet sweet baby, I promise you, no harm will ever come upon you, and you will want and need for nothing. I will never stop loving you, and I will never stop protecting you. Until my dying breath. I love you, Samantha. I am yours, and you are mine. Forever."

Sam pulled her hand away from Freddie, and her bouquet fell to the ground, both hands flying to her face as she covered her mouth with her hands. It was obvious she was mere seconds from breaking down. Freddie wasn't in much better shape, but he was holding it together a little bit better than she was, reaching for her hand and kissing it again.

"Freddie?" Milton asked, and Freddie looked up at him and nodded, pulling a box out of his pocket.

"This is for you, my sweet sweet baby," he said, opening the box and showing her the ring he'd gotten. It was white gold, and had three small diamonds on it, all the same size, and it matched Sam's current ring perfectly. "Past, present, and future."

"Baby..." she said softly. "It's beautiful."

Freddie slid the ring onto Sam's finger, right behind the ring she already had, and she looked down at it, before looking back up at him, still crying, but smiling at the same time.

"Well, by the power vested in me by the state of Washington, once again, I now pronounce you..." Uncle Milton started, but he couldn't even finish getting his words out. It seemed like at exactly the same moment, Freddie had grabbed Sam by her waist and Sam's hand went for Freddie's tie, jerking him toward her, and they kissed, Sam's arms going around Freddie's neck, and Freddie pulling her against him tightly. They were kissing so passionately it was pretty obvious that they had stopped paying attention to anyone else at this point. They just kept kissing. And kept kissing. And kept kissing.

Milton cleared his throat awkwardly, but it didn't make much of a difference, they just kept kissing. I couldn't help but laugh, shaking my head, and Brad started to laugh too. We dealt with this on a daily basis, of course Sam and Freddie would start pawing each other at their own ceremony...it was, after all, Sam and Freddie.

"Um, Sam?" I called, but nothing.

"Yo, Freddie!" Brad yelled.

"Sam!"

"Freddie!"

I rolled my eyes, looking over at Brad. "Okay, one, two, three..."

"GUYS!" We hollered.

Sam and Freddie finally pulled apart, looking at us. "Yeah?"

"You're making your mother uncomfortable, and your uncle, and everyone else here."

Freddie and Sam stared at us for a second, before shrugging, and then going back to kissing each other, and I rolled my eyes, standing up.

"Okay, everyone, just...clear out, they'll be done eventually, I'm sure."

"Yeah, if everyone wants to go inside, I have hors d'eouvres," April said brightly, standing up and beginning to usher everyone back toward the house.

But Sam and Freddie were still completely oblivious, locked on to each other like they'd been apart for years. It was incredibly sweet. Those two were batshit crazy, total horndogs, and completely hopeless. But they were also desperately, intensely, and totally in love, and that was an amazing thing to see, the way two broken kids had latched on to each other, fixed each other, and never wanted to let each other go.

I looked at Brad, and he gave me a smile, taking my hand and walking with me back towards the house. I looked over my shoulder one more time at Sam and Freddie, who had stopped kissing, but were just standing there, holding each other, and then I looked back at Brad. Despite the fact that Brad was leaving, and despite the fact that I would miss him terribly, looking at the way my two best friends cared about each other so much, the way they would fight to the death for each other, no matter how bad it got, that gave me hope.

At least I had that.

~*Brad*~

"Are they still out there?" I asked, looking out the back window onto the lawn, but I couldn't spot Sam and Freddie through all the trees and shrubs.

Carly just shrugged, giving me a smile. "Leave them be, they're fine."

Well, the ceremony was over, and it was short, sweet, and to the point, but it'd definitely served its purpose. Of course, Sam and Freddie were always all over each other anyway, but I'd suspected those two would be even more so from this point on, at least for awhile.

It was kind of cool though. Freddie really, really loved Sam, and Sam felt the same way. But the entire ceremony, all I could think about was Carly, and having to leave her behind. It would only be a matter of days...twenty nine, to be exact. Less than a month, and I'd have to leave her. This sucked. It would definitely be the hardest thing I'd ever have to do. Carly and I promised each other, we wouldn't talk about it, but it was all I could think about.

I felt like I was just going through the motions of it all with my family at this point, at least where my parents were concerned. I still played the perfect son, but every time I looked at my father, all I felt was anger. My whole life, he'd controlled me, molded me into who he wanted me to be, and I didn't even really know who I wanted to be. I wanted to be a filmmaker, I knew that, but there were other things I wanted to do too, and it seemed like I'd never get the chance! And I wanted to be with Carly, possibly forever, but that seemed like an impossibility too. I had no intentions of breaking up with her, but I was going to have to leave her behind, and it was killing me.

I sighed, trying to clear my head, before walking around behind Carly and wrapping my arms around her, my chin resting on her shoulder.

"I love you," I said in her ear softly. "I'm really going to miss you."

Carly took a deep breath. "Brad, we said..."

"I know, we said we weren't going to talk about it. And I don't want to talk about it. I'm just really going to miss you. I just wanted you to know that."

"I'm going to miss you too," she whispered. "So much."

I didn't respond, just brought my hand to her chin, tilting her head up a bit so I could kiss her.

Before we could speak another word, the back door opened, and in walked Sam and Freddie.

"Aw, there's the happy couple!" Carly said.

They didn't respond, just glanced over at each other, smirking a bit.

"So, was it what you thought?" Carly asked Sam. "The ceremony I mean?"

Sam nodded. "Everything and more. It was perfect."

"Well," I said, clearing my throat a bit. "Carly and I got you guys something."

Freddie's eyebrows went up. "You did?"

"Uh-huh," I replied, pulling a key card out of my pocket and handing it to him.

"What is this?" Sam asked, looking down at the card Freddie was holding.

"It's a room key. To a suite, at the Plaza Hotel," Carly said with a grin.

"Oh my god!" Sam and Freddie both said.

"You guys, this must have been expensive as hell!" Sam stated.

"Yeah, you guys didn't have to do that," Freddie added.

I shrugged. "Eh, we didn't get you guys a wedding present the first time, consider this a makeup. Besides, it's kind of a gift for us too."

Sam's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?" she asked, and Carly rolled her eyes.

"Uh, after the way you two almost jumped each other's bones in front of EVERYONE, during your VOW RENEWAL, I mean...Brad and I would like a night without all the noise, if you know what I mean...so...we get private time, and you guys get private time. In an awesome suite."

"Well, that's...kind of sweet," Freddie said, and Sam nodded, before hugging Carly.

"Thanks Carls," she said. "You too, Brad."

"So...this room...is available...like now?" Freddie asked, and Carly and I nodded. Freddie didn't say anything, just looked over at Sam. "Hey, baby?"

"Yeah?"

"Go tell everyone bye. It's time to go," he said, and Sam just gave him a smile, before heading off in the direction of April and Spencer.

"I knew it," I told Carly. "Only a matter of moments..."

"Hello, have you met those two?" she replied. "So when are we leaving?"

I gave her a Look. "You want to?"

She didn't respond, just nodded at me, her face serious. "I want to."

"Okay, time to go!" I replied.

~*Freddie*~

"You know, if you stopped kissing me and let me move away from the door for a second, you might be able to open that thing," Sam commented, as I tried to multi-task opening the door to the suite Carly and Brad had gotten for us and kiss all over her neck and shoulders, pinned against the door. I ignored her, continuing to do both, and finally I got the door open, before grabbing her by her waist and pushing the door open. Her legs went around my waist and I picked her up, kicking the door shut with my foot. We didn't even take a moment to look around, though I'm sure it was a very nice room, I just carried her in the direction of the bedroom, laying her down on the bed, coming down over top of her.

"I love you so much, baby," I said, resuming my task of kissing her bare shoulders, glad she had picked out a strapless dress for today. "You're so beautiful."

"I love you too," she responded. "Did I mention how sexy you look in a suit?"

"Once or twice," I replied.

I kind of felt bad for bouncing on everyone after the ceremony, but I just couldn't help it, I HAD to be alone with Sam. She looked so beautiful, and her words had really gotten to me. I was in love with this girl now more than ever, and that was saying a LOT.

Sam pulled my suit jacket down over my shoulders and I shook it the rest of the way off, kicking off my shoes and then kissing her passionately. I was in a rush to get her alone, but I definitely wasn't in a rush with this. I was going to take my time with her, stretch it out as long as possible, hours if I could.

Sam fiddled with my tie a bit, pulling on the knot and loosening it, before pulling it off and throwing it somewhere behind her, and I trailed my hands down her legs, pulling her shoes off, dropping them off the floor, and then tangled my hands through her beautiful hair, trying to take it down for her, then getting irritated when I realized I couldn't.

"Baby, fix this," I whined, and she smirked at me, pushing at my shoulders to get me to sit up, before sitting up herself.

"Sorry, Carly put like a billion bobby pins in there." She paused. "Did you like it though?"

"You looked absolutely beautiful. You still do," I replied. "Need some help with that zipper?" She nodded, and I moved behind her to unzip her dress, kissing her back, and then letting the dress fall down a bit as I unzipped it all the way. My eyebrows went up when I saw what was underneath. "What is this?"

"A corset," she replied. "You like?"

"Stand up," I said, and as she got off the bed, letting the dress fall the rest of the way off, my eyes widened. "Oh my god."

"You like?" she repeated, and I nodded slowly.

"I love." I wasn't joking either, she looked hot as hell in that thing. It was solid white, and it made her cleavage look even more tantalizing, made her waist look even narrower, and all she had on the bottom was a tiny white thong. Oh my god, I was married to the sexiest, most beautiful woman on earth.

She turned around, lifting her hair up. "You have to untie it. At the bottom. Then loosen the ties. Kind of like a sneaker."

I shook my head. "This is so much sexier than a damn sneaker. I'm buying you one of these in every color, I swear to god."

She giggled, looking over her shoulder at me, as I tried to unlace it. Okay, it was incredibly sexy, but incredibly difficult to get off! Like a gift with a million bows. I growled a little in frustration, and she just laughed at me.

"Don't laugh, I'm about to cut these ties off," I grunted, and she gave me a Look.

"Don't you dare. Just pull the laces out, one by one. Okay?"

I sighed, trying to control myself. "Okay. Give me a second." I tried to concentrate, grinning triumphantly when I finally pulled the ties off completely and the corset fell to the ground. "Finally!"

She turned around, smiling a little as she watched my eyes travel over her body. "Better?"

"Much," I replied, reaching for her. "Now come here."

"You're over-dressed for this party, baby," she said.

"So fix it."

"Don't mind if I do," she stated, beginning to busy herself with unbuttoning my shirt, bending down to kiss every bit of skin that was revealed with each open button. I sighed, leaning my head back, and she finally finished, spreading the shirt open and sliding her hands over my chest, before pulling the shirt off the rest of the way and wrapping her arms around my neck, pressing against me and kissing me passionately, moaning against my mouth as our bare skin came into contact.

"Baby," she whispered, pulling away from my mouth to kiss my neck. "I love you so much. So much. God, I love you."

"I love you too, my sweet sweet baby," I said, my arms going around her and laying back, taking her with me, before rolling us over so I was back on top. "I'm going to love you for the rest of my life."

"Do you realize a year ago today we were doing this for the first time?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Best night of my life," I replied, kissing her.

"Well, we've had some really good nights since then," she laughed, and I nodded.

"And mornings. And afternoons."

"Mmmhmm," she replied. "Freddie?"

"Yeah?"

"I know I've said it a billion times today, but I love you."

"I will NEVER get tired of hearing you say you love me," I responded.

"Never?" she asked.

"Never."

"I love you," she said, before kissing me. "I love you I love you I love you I love you. A million times I love you."

"Good," I replied. "I love you too. For always."

"Now get those pants off, and make love to me. Right now."

I shook my head. "No."

"No?" she asked, sounding shocked. "Why?"

"Because I wanna take my time with you," I replied, kissing her passionately, grinding against her, and she whimpered against my mouth, her arms going around my neck. We kept kissing like that for a few minutes, one of her hands going to the back of my head and tangling through my hair, the other trailing up and down my back softly. I finally broke the kiss to kiss over her neck and shoulders, licking across her collarbone, before moving down and covering her breast with my mouth, eliciting a moan from my sweet wife. It had sounded so strange to me, a year ago, when I'd used that term for the first time, but now it was normal, welcome, part of my every day life. I'd never regretted a day being married to Sam, even though we were both ridiculously young, and I doubted I ever would.

"Baby," she moaned. "You feel so good..."

"Just getting started, sweetheart," I replied against her skin, kissing even lower, over her flat stomach, nibbling on her hipbones, before pulling her thong over her gorgeous legs, kissing my way back up those legs, until I reached her sweet, wet center, licking over her softly, groaning when I felt her hands go to my hair and arch her back, moaning.

"Oh, god, Freddie! That feels so good...please don't stop..."

I didn't respond, just kept up my task of pleasuring her with my tongue, making slow circles around the most sensitive part of her body, flicking my tongue back and forth occasionally, enjoying the way it made her arch into me and tremble. She was getting close already, but I slid a finger into her just to amp things up a little bit.

"Freddie..." she gasped. "Oh god...baby...I...oh god...AAAH!" she cried out as she exploded against me, shaking uncontrollably, and I kissed back up her body before brushing my lips across hers.

"Feel good, baby?"

"Yes," she moaned softly. "I love your mouth. Oh god..." She put her hands on my shoulders, pushing at me a little bit. "Sit up. The pants have to go, right now."

"Someone's in a hurry," I teased, and she nodded.

"A big hurry. I need you inside me, right now. Please..."

Well damn, who was I to argue with THAT? I sat up so she could unbuckle my belt and unzip my pants, before pulling them off, doing the same with my boxers and laying back down over her, kissing her softly, slowly, intensely, everything I'd been feeling today coming out via my mouth. Her arms went back around my neck, and she ground her hips against me, moaning when she felt me brush against her. We continued to kiss, and without warning I slowly pushed into her, causing her to let out a deep, drawn-out moan.

"Baby...oh god," she whispered. "Make love to me. Please. I need you."

"Relax, baby," I responded, kissing her again. "I got you. Relax."

"Okay," she whispered, continuing to moan as I moved in and out of her slowly, grinding my hips against hers in a circular motion. God, it felt so good. She was so wet and warm and tight...the best feeling in the world.

"I love you, Samantha," I murmured in her ear before flicking at her lobe with my tongue. "I love you so much."

"Oh, baby..." she cried out, trying to move her hips against me faster, but I held her still, so she couldn't. The last thing I wanted right now was for it to be over with too soon. She could be in a such a rush sometimes, I'd have to slow my sweet baby down.

"Baby, slow," I whispered in her ear.

"I can't," she groaned. "I just...oh god...it feels so good...I can't slow down."

"Relax, sweetheart, I'll get you there, I promise," I responded, kissing her softly.

I continued to move against her at the same slow tempo, trying to build it up for her so it'd be more intense, but it was driving her crazy, she was absolutely trembling and shaking with need. I lowered my head to lick and suck at her breasts to give her a little extra sensation, and her nails dug into my back as she moaned loudly.

"God, Freddie...you feel SO good! Oh, my god..."

I could feel her legs begin to tighten around me, her thighs shaking, and as I felt her walls tighten up around me, her back arching, hips moving frantically, I knew she was close, so I picked up my pace just a little bit.

"Gonna come, baby?" I murmured in her ear. "Hmm?"

"Yes!" she gasped. "Oh! Please don't stop...please...I'm begging you, don't stop baby...oh my god!"

"Come for me, baby. Come on, come for me," I said in a low voice, kissing her neck. Her legs and arms tightened up around me and she buried her face in my neck, letting out a noise that was more of a scream than a moan, quaking against me.

"Aaaaahhhh! Oh god, Freddie!" she gasped, still shaking. "Oh my god, you feel so good..."

"You do too, baby..." I replied, kissing her. "You're so sexy...so beautiful...I love you so much..."

"I love you too!" she cried. "Don't stop...keep going...I never want you to stop..."

I didn't want to stop either, she felt SO good...I just wanted to stay like this forever. I loved this girl more than life itself, there WAS no life without Sam. Words couldn't describe the things she made me feel, except that she made more feel more alive than anything on earth. In spite of all the drama, the fights, the danger...in spite of everything, this had been without a doubt the best year of my life.

I couldn't hold out any longer, just thinking about how much I loved her, while in the middle of making love to her was driving me over the edge.

"Baby," I warned. "God...I can't hold out any longer...you feel so good..." I trailed off, trying to steady myself. "Oh god, I'm..."

"Me too," she gasped. "Me too. Don't stop...it's okay, just let go..."

"Okay..." I groaned. "Mmm...Sam...baby...I...fuck...SAM!"

"Aah, Freddie!" she yelled, reaching her peak at the same time I did, and I collapsed against her, sweaty and exhausted, shivering a little bit as she lightly trailed her nails up and down my back.

"Baby," I moaned against her neck. "That was amazing. I love you so much."

"Don't ever leave me," she whispered, kissing the side of my head. "Please."

"Never, baby. Not in a million years."

She nodded. "Okay."

I finally withdrew, laying down next to her and pulling her against me, smiling as she laid her head on my chest and listened to my heart beat, her fingertips dancing over my chest. My hand found its way to her hair, toying with it, like we usually did when we laid in bed together.

"Wow, now that I look around, this is actually pretty nice," Sam commented with a smile. "Go Brad and Carly."

"Mmmhmm," I responded. "It is pretty nice."

We were quiet for a moment, before Sam lifted her head to look at me, her chin resting on my chest.

"So what do you want to do now? We have the whole night."

"Lay here," I replied. "Just like this."

"You wanna watch tv?" she asked, staring into my eyes, and I shook my head.

"No," I replied. "I just wanna lay here with you. I hope today was everything you wanted." She shook her head no, and I made a face. "It wasn't?"

"No," she said. "YOU'RE everything I wanted. The ceremony just made everything better. I love you so much, baby. Happy anniversary."

I gave her a smile. "You too, my sweet sweet baby."

She just gave me another smile before laying her head back down, her eyes closing, and after awhile, I'd noticed she'd drifted off to sleep. I just watched her, continuing to play with her hair, while I thought about the past year.

We'd made it through the first year of marriage. Not only that, we'd made it through, and came out on the other side even better, and more in love, than before. I hoped it was like that with every year. With that, I lifted my head to kiss my beautiful wife on top of hers, before closing my eyes and drifting off myself.


	91. Chapter 91: The End

**A/N: The final chapter! Eeee! Okay, so this one is obviously very Brad/Carly centric, for obvious reasons, and there's also a Barly lemon thrown in for good measure. I had SUCH a blast writing this, and now I'm all amped up to start on the sequel! I already have a lot of ideas for it! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, I started it right when I moved to a new state and didn't know anyone, so writing this was literally the highlight of the past few months. I hope you enjoy the conclusion! (PS – in case you were wondering, there IS a Beatles song called The End, so I stayed true to my word of naming every chapter after a Beatles' song. It was NOT easy.)**

**Chapter Ninety One:  
><strong>**The End**

~*Sam*~

I leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door, my head resting against it, as I continued to knock on the door.

"Carly...come out."

No answer.

"Carly! You can't stay in there forever, dude!"

Still nothing. I sighed in frustration. Carly had been in there for over an hour, and I knew she was NOT in a good place right now. Today had to be SUCH a hard day for her. It was the day that Brad had to leave for the academy in New York, and she hadn't even had the opportunity to spend the night with him, because his dad had DEMANDED that he stay in his room. Stupid jerk. I knew I was supposed to be grateful for all of his help with the Bill situation, but still. I was PISSED. This was breaking my best friend's heart, it was breaking Brad's heart, and by that rationale, it was breaking MY heart. And Freddie was just as pissed off as I was. Luckily we hadn't started snapping at each other, like we usually did when we were upset, but still, this was incredibly hard to deal with.

Freddie walked by then, leaning forward to kiss me.

"Is she still locked in there?" he asked, and I nodded.

"She won't come out, she's so upset..."

"Poor thing," Freddie said with a sad look on his face, before knocking on the door. "Carly, sweetie, come on out! You don't need to be by yourself right now, in a bathroom, crying. Come on."

"NO!" she yelled from inside the bathroom. "Leave me alone!"

I glared at Freddie. "Hey, how come you got a response?"

"What?" Freddie asked, making a face. "She yelled at me!"

"At least you got yelled at! What am I, chopped liver?"

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Want me to go downstairs and see how Brad's coming along with his packing?"

I nodded. "Could you? I'll keep trying to get Carly out."

"Can't you just pick the lock?"

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "She anticipated that already. She made sure all the bobby pins were in the bathroom. And the hinges are on the inside of the bathroom, so I can't take it off that way."

"Credit card?"

I shook my head. "Not with this door, I tried. Oh, that reminds me..." I pulled a dented card out of my back pocket and handed it to him. "You may wanna get this replaced."

"Sam!" he scolded me. "That's my bank card!"

I shrugged. "It was an emergency. It wasn't linked to the business account, was it?"

"No, just personal," he sighed.

"Then we'll be fine until you get a new one."

"I don't like dipping into the business account, you know that."

"But you just transfer cash to our personal account," I pointed out. "What's the difference?"

"I...I don't know, I just don't like doing it! That's my system!" he gruffed. "One of these days I'm gonna have to teach you how to handle our money."

"Thought you didn't want me to have access to the account," I pointed out.

"Yeah, because you have a spending problem," Freddie replied. "We'll just have to work on it."

I made a face as I heard Carly sobbing in the bathroom, before looking back at Freddie. "Can we work on it later? Carly's about to have a meltdown, and I'm about to have to break the door down with the fire-ax in the hallway."

"Don't do that," Freddie said flatly. "I'll go see what Brad's up to, just stay by the door, okay?" I nodded, and he leaned forward to kiss me. "Love you. I'll be back."

"Okay," I replied. "Do not yell at Brad's father."

"Yes, honey," he replied with a roll of his eyes, before walking away, and then I heard the front door slam, before focusing back on my task of getting Carly out of the bathroom.

"Carly!" I said. "Honey, come on! You gotta come out! You can't cease living just because your boyfriend's moving to the other side of the country!" I heard Carly start sobbing all over again, and nearly slapped myself upside the head. Perhaps that was a poor choice of words.

"Brad still loves you! You know this isn't his choice!" I called. "This isn't gonna change anything between you two, and you know that! Brad loves you!"

Still nothing. I sighed, sliding down the wall, until I reached a sitting position, knocking on the door again.

"Carly, I love you, and I'm not leaving. Even if you stay in there forever, I'll feed you M&Ms under the door, and I'll be right here, so when you do decide to come out, I'll be there to talk you down. I'm here, Carly!"

She still didn't respond, and I wanted to bang my head against the wall.

This was going to be a very long day.

~*Brad*~

"Scoot, bro," I told Bryson as I brushed past him, shoving clothes into my bag. He continued to sit on my bed and stare at me.

"Who's gonna scare off the mean kids in the building? That boy Chuck won't leave me alone." Bryson said sadly, and I gave him a sympathetic look.

"I told you, little guy, the first sign of trouble, go upstairs, apartment 8-C, and either Freddie or Sam will take care of it."

"But Sam's a girl," Bryson replied with a confused look, and I shrugged.

"That means nothing. I've seen her break a guy's nose before."

"So she'll break Chuck's nose?" Bryson asked hopefully, and I shook my head, laughing a bit.

"No, but she'll scare him off. Freddie too. Anything you need help with, just ask them. I promise."

Bryson nodded carefully. "Okay."

"So Bryson's taken care of," Heather complained. "But what about me? Who'll take the heat when I get in trouble?"

I sighed. "I dunno, Heather. You're getting older, you're gonna have to start taking some of the heat yourself. And you gotta keep Bry and Leah in line, I won't be able to do it anymore."

Heather laid back on Bryson's bed, staring at the ceiling. "This isn't fair. I hate Dad right now."

I kind of agreed with her, but I had to shake my head. "You can't hate your father."

"Why not?" she snapped. "It's not fair, he's making you leave! And you don't even wanna go!"

"Can't you just tell Dad you're sorry?" Bryson asked. "Maybe he'll let you stay."

"Bryson, I'm not being punished. Dad actually thinks he's helping me, even though he's mistaken. Very mistaken."

"You think?" Heather said sarcastically. "You are not gonna make it in the Marines. You're too skinny. They're gonna kill you."

"I'm not a puss— err...weakling, Heather," I responded, trying to watch my language in front of my younger siblings. "I can handle myself."

"You gonna miss Carly?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Every single day."

"More than us?" Bryson asked softly, and I shook my head, giving him a smile.

"You're my brother. No girl can compete with that." I patted him on the head before going back to packing. "But you guys better behave. Heather, do NOT, and I mean do NOT, go up to Freddie's and hit on him. If you need something, Carly or Freddie or Sam will help, but don't be a nuisance. And stay off the fire escape, because the next person who's gonna catch you is gonna be Mom or Dad, and I know you don't want that."

"No," Heather said softly. "I just wish you could stay."

"Yeah, me too."

We were interrupted by a knock at the door, and my dad stuck his head in the door. "Hey you guys!" he said brightly. Ugh, he was in such a good mood I wanted to throw up! "Having sibling bonding time?" He walked in the room without asking if it was okay, like always, and Bryson gave him a dirty look.

"I'll be in the living room. I'm about to go through my blue period," he stated, getting off the bed and brushing past Dad.

"I have no idea what he's talking about, but I have to go blog about how upset I am!" Heather added, walking past Dad.

My dad looked at me quizzically, and I shrugged. "They're pretty upset with you right now, if you haven't guessed."

"Well they're too young to understand," he replied.

"I'm not too young, and I'm still upset."

"Bradley, I know you're going to miss Carly and everything, but I promise you, this is for the best..."

"It is absolutely KILLING me to have to leave her behind. And my best friends. And Bryson and Heather and Leah. And my hopes and dreams for the future. It is absolutely KILLING ME, that I have to give up every single part of what makes me who I am, just to please you. You just don't GET IT!"

"In twenty years you'll thank me," my dad gruffed, and I shook my head.

"In four years I'll probably pull a Full Metal Jacket and blow my brains out during Basic, Dad. Because I'm going to be so damn unhappy."

"I think you're being a little bit dramatic," my dad said with an amused expression on his face.

"Yeah, well I think you're being a little bit of a dick." I replied, turning around to grab my packed bag and throwing it over my shoulder, before shoving past him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to Carly's. She and Freddie and Sam are taking me to the airport."

"No! We agreed last night, your mother and I are taking you, so we can see you off!"

"No, you said you were taking me, and you refused to listen to what I want, like you ALWAYS do! Like you've done my entire life! I'm going to the fucking academy, you won on that, but my last few minutes in Seattle, I am spending with my girlfriend. I love her, and that's the one thing you CAN'T take away from me. Now leave me the hell alone!"

My dad grabbed my shoulder, yanking me back. "You think you're a man now?"

"Yeah, I do," I replied, glaring at him.

"Well, all I see is a boy. You survive the academy, maybe then I'll start thinking of you as a man."

"Yeah, and then I'll be trained by the government to kick your ass, so don't push me," I responded. "Bye dad. Have a nice life." With that, I walked out of my room, amazed my dad didn't stop me, running right into my mom.

"Mom," I said. "Carly's taking me to the airport. You can't stop me."

She shook her head. "I wasn't going to."

"You're not?" I asked, confused, and she shook her head again.

"No. I know you love her. So go spend some time with her, before you do what your father wants."

"Mom," I said in a low voice. "Why do you do this? Why do you go along with everything he says? Look what it's doing to us!"

My mom sighed, shrugging. "I was sixteen when we had you. Your grandparents wanted nothing to do with me after that, you know that. Your father, he..." she shook her head again. "As long as I listen to him, he takes care of me."

"Mom, you can take care of yourself. You know that."

"Maybe I don't want to."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I hope you're happy with the way your kids have turned out. Bryson, lost in his own world, Heather, rebellious to the core, and me, completely miserable. God only knows how Leah will turn out."

My mom shook her head. "God turned his back on this a long time ago."

"Yeah, I know," I replied, before hugging her. "I love you, Mom. You're a great person. I just wish you could see it."

"I love you too, Bradley. Try to be good, okay?"

I shrugged. "Can't be anything else, I suppose."

"Yeah, you could. All of this, you could have turned out much different. And that's why I love you. You're a good boy."

"I'm not a boy, mom."

"I know," my mom said, smiling sadly. "Tell your brother and your sisters goodbye?"

"Of course. Where's Leah?"

"In her room, playing."

I nodded. "Okay." I walked into Leah's room, opening the door, to find her sitting on the floor watching a children's show.

"Hey, Lee-Lee!" I called brightly, sitting down next to her. "Whatcha watchin'?"

"Doooh!" she gurgled, pointing at the TV, which was Leah-speak for Dora.

"Cool!" I said, grabbing her and pulling her onto my lap. "Swiper?"

"No swipin'!" she yelled, her hand out in the front of her. "Swiper bad!"

"Yeah, Swiper bad," I agreed. "Hey, Brad's gotta go."

She looked up at me. "Go?"

"Uh-huh. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Bwad stay. Play."

I sighed, kissing my baby sister on her head. "I can't stay, kid. I love you, and your brother and sister, but Daddy wants me to go away to school, so I gotta go. You be a good girl, okay? You do everything Mommy and Daddy tells you, don't fuss when you have to go to bed, be a good girl."

"Bwad stay?"

I shook my head. "No. But Brad will come back to see you. I love you."

Leah stood up, before turning around and hugging me, her head on my shoulder. "Bwad stay. Lub Bwad."

I groaned. God, this was so hard. "Brad go. But Brad love you."

"Bwy-bwy go?"

"No, Bwy-bwy stay. Heather too. But Brad's gotta go."

She just looked at me sadly. "Okay. Lub 'oo."

I kissed her on her cheek, before pulling her out of my lap and standing up. "Lub 'oo too. Be good, okay?"

"Otay."

I gave her a smile, bending down to kiss her again, before leaving her room, walking down the hall to find Heather poised at her laptop at the kitchen table, grumbling to herself.

"Try to cool it on the expletives, kid," I stated, looking over her shoulder at the blog she'd started, and Heather just grunted at me.

"That's private," she replied.

"You're putting it online for the whole internet, it's not private," I responded. "I'll read it every day. Just to make sure you're behaving."

She just rolled her eyes. "Brad, stay. Please?"

"I can't, Heather. You know that."

She sighed, before standing up to hug me. "I know. I'm just really gonna miss you. It's not gonna be the same without you."

"It won't be the same without having to keep you in line, either," I replied, hugging her back. "But I'll come back on holidays. I swear."

She just stared at me, before sighing. "Okay," she finally said. "Be careful. Don't let Big Brother get you down."

I gave her a Look. "Big Brother, really? We're a pro-Big Brother family, you know that, right?"

She shrugged. "There are some things thicker than blood, Brad. I wish you'd get that too."

I just shook my head. "You're twelve. How'd you get so smart?"

"Had to," she replied. "I don't wanna end up like Mom. She's great, but..." she shook her head fervently. "I don't want this life."

"I don't either," I replied softly. "But I don't have a choice. I love you. Be good."

"Love you too. And good is a relative term."

"With you, it's more like a distant cousin," I cracked, patting her on the head and ignoring the glare she gave me. "See ya, sis."

"Bye," she said softly, and I walked over to Bryson, who was scribbling in earnest on the floor.

"Yo dude," I said, nudging him. He didn't look up, just continued to draw. "That's a depressing picture."

"I'm depressed," he replied flatly. "I'm being abandoned."

"I am not abandoning you, Bry! I'm going away to school."

"Same thing," he grunted.

I sighed, running my hand over my shaved head. "You're making this really hard."

"So stay."

"I can't, Bryson! Dad already wrote the check for the first semester!"

Bryson shrugged. "He has more money."

"That's not the point. When I make a commitment, I keep it."

Bryson glared up at me. "I'm not sure what that means, but I think you're just scared...like Mom."

Ouch. Well that stung a little, especially coming from an eight year old. "I love you, Bry. I wish you'd understand why I have to do this, but I know you won't. You and Heather sure have that whole rebellion thing down. I never really could grasp the concept."

"We could teach you, but you're leaving," he replied.

"Just give me a hug, knucklehead," I replied, kneeling on the ground. "I love you. I gotta go."

"Fine," he sighed, rising to his feet and hugging me fiercely. "I hope we make it without you."

And another blow, from the eight year old! "You'll be fine, Bry. Don't stop making art, okay? You've got major talent, I'd hate to see you throw it away."

"Dad's trying to make me give it up anyway. He wants me to play baseball."

"Do you want to?"

"I want to hit him with a baseball bat."

I laughed a little, but rolled my eyes. "Don't do that. If you don't wanna do baseball, just play badly. He'll give up. I gotta go, little man. Be good. Look after our sisters."

"I will. Love you, Brad."

"Love you too, Bry," I responded, standing up. I gave one final wave to Bryson before heading to the door, pulling it open to find Freddie standing there, his arm poised to knock. "Hey, man."

"Aw, man, you're LEAVING? Without telling Carly?" he exclaimed, and I shook my head.

"No. I had to get out of here. You guys wanna take me to the airport? I still have two hours."

"Oh, phew. I thought you were just gonna bail without saying bye!" he replied. "Yeah, we'll do that, but I came down here because Carly's freaking out."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course she is. Come on, let's go." I looked back at Bryson. "Bye, little dude! Keep the faith!"

"Bye, big bro! Get some faith!"

I shut the door, leaning against it and sighing, my bag slipping off my shoulder, and Freddie gaped at me.

"That kid's pretty deep."

"Yeah, no shit," I responded. "He's been getting me with zingers all day. Let's just go, before my dad comes after me or something."

Freddie and I got on the elevator, both of us silent the entire way up, and walking down the hallway. Neither one of us seemed like we were in the mood to talk. He was my best friend, I'd miss him almost as much as I would miss Carly, but guys couldn't show it. It just wasn't in the code. If I kept quiet, it'd be easier to not break the guy code. I didn't want to run the risk of a pulling an "I love you, man!" on the guy. But still, I really did. This had been a really, really intense year, so much drama, but despite all that, it was a pretty great year. And now it was all ending.

Freddie opened the door to their apartment, and I followed him in, right to the bathroom, where Sam was sitting against the wall next to, knocking on the door repeatedly.

"Carly!" she yelled. "Come on! I'm gonna start a fire to get you out here if you don't open this door!" She looked up, noticing me, and scrambled to her feet. "Hi."

"Hey," I greeted her. "How long has she been in there?"

Sam sighed. "Over two hours. Crying on and off the whole time. She's having a breakdown, dude! Do something!"

My hands went to her shoulders, pushing her away from the door, before knocking on it softly.

"Honey, open the door. It's me."

The door flew open and Carly flung herself into my arms, crying. My arms went around her, one hand stroking her hair, trying to soothe her. "Babe, it's okay."

"No it's not!" she sobbed. "I don't want you to leave!"

"I know," I said softly. "I know, babe. I don't want to leave either. I love you so much."

"This hurts so much," she whispered, and I nodded.

"I know. Come on, let's go upstairs. I got two hours before you guys have to take me to the airport."

She pulled away to look at me, and I brushed the tears off her face, grimacing when I noticed how red and swollen her eyes were, like she'd been crying for hours. "Your parents aren't taking you?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I told my dad you guys were. I already said goodbye to Heather and Bryson and Leah."

She nodded. "Okay."

"Come on, babe. Let's go lay down for a bit. I just wanna hold you for a little while."

She didn't speak, just nodded a bit, and I took her hand, leading her towards the stairs, before looking over at Sam.

"Thanks for trying," I said.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Go make her feel better." She leaned against Freddie and he put his arms around her from behind, kissing her neck.

"I will," I replied, before looking back at Carly. "C'mon babe. Let's go."

~*Carly*~

I didn't even have the strength to argue with Brad as he led me up the stairs, opening the door to my room, before picking me up and carrying me over to the bed, laying me down on it and then laying down next to me, pulling me to him.

"I love you so much, Carly," he said softly, and I nodded against his chest.

"I love you too," I replied. "I wish you didn't have to leave. We had a really good summer."

"We had a really good year, babe," he reminded me, and I nodded.

"It's all ending now though."

"But we're not," he said, lifting my head to force me to look at him. "This isn't over, Carly. I love you. I'm not giving you up. Even if I end up getting stationed on Mars. I will never give you up. You're my love."

I gave him a sad smile, fresh tears coming out. "Brad..."

"Yeah?"

"Make love to me. One more time."

He didn't speak, just kissed me softly, his arms going around my waist, pulling me against him, before deepening the kiss, and I sighed against his mouth, gasping a little as he rolled us over so he was on top. He pulled away to pull his shirt off, and I did the same, allowing him to reach behind me and unclasp my bra, pulling it off and then bending down to kiss over my bare chest.

"Baby," I whimpered. "You feel so good. I love you."

"I love you too, Carly." He unbuttoned my shorts and pulled them off, along with my underwear, before reaching into my bedside table drawer to grab a condom. I sat up to unbutton his jeans, sliding them down over his hips, and he pulled them off the rest of the way, before tearing open the condom wrapper with his teeth. I watched him put it on, laying back and staring into his eyes. His beautiful, big blue eyes.

I loved Brad so much. He was my first love, and I didn't want to be without him. He was my support, my rock, my comfort. And now all that was going to go away. It sucked. I couldn't stop myself from crying again, and he leaned down to kiss my tears away.

"Don't cry, babe," he whispered. "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," I sobbed.

"I know, babydoll. I know. This is hard for me too," he responded. "But I can't make love to you while you're crying. I just can't."

"I'm sorry," I replied, trying to control my emotions. "Kiss me. Please."

"I can do that, babe," he responded with a smile, coming over top of me and kissing me passionately, his hands tangling through my hair, and my arms went around his neck, trying to pull him closer to me. I wouldn't ever be able to get enough of the way his skin felt against mine, and who knew when the next time would be that I got to feel that?

I gasped a little as I felt him slide into me, gripping at his shoulders, moaning as he began to move in and out of me. He always took his time with me, making sure it was always sweet and passionate, and today was no exception. In fact, he seemed even more intent on it, kissing me deeply, staring into my eyes, telling me over and over how much he loved me, how much he would miss me. All I could do was hold onto him tightly, my legs going around him, holding him tighter than I ever had, like it would make a difference in whether or not he would leave. I knew it wouldn't but I couldn't help it.

It felt so good, but it was so heart-breaking at the same time. I knew it would be a long time before I felt him inside me again, and that was painful to acknowledge. I was trying to be in the moment, but I couldn't; it just hurt too much, the thought of him leaving.

Still, it did feel good, and in no time, I was grinding against him, panting, gasping, moaning softly, calling his name over and over.

"Brad," I moaned. "Baby, you feel so good. Oh god..I...oh, BRAD!" I cried as I felt myself go over the edge, my whole world spinning, shaking uncontrollably, as Brad kissed my forehead gently, bringing me back down to earth.

"Better?" he murmured in my ear before kissing my neck, and I nodded, unable to speak. I felt him pick up his pace a little bit, like he was having difficulty holding back.

"Carly..." he groaned. "I...I can't...oh god...shit...Carly..."

"It's okay," I whispered in his ear, rubbing his back. "I'm good. It's okay."

"Okay..." he grunted. "Oh god, babe, you feel so good...Carly...Carly...CARLY!" he groaned as he climaxed, quivering against me, as he finally collapsed, breathing heavily. I kissed his forehead, my hand rubbing his back softly, and I heard him sniffle.

"Baby?"

"I'm fine," he replied in a choked voice, his face pressed against my neck. I could feel my neck getting wet, and I was pretty sure it wasn't from sweat. He wasn't fine.

"Brad..." I whispered, continuing to rub his back. "It's okay. Quit holding back."

"I'm fine, Carly," he repeated, and I could feel him shaking.

"Baby, let it out. It doesn't make you any less of a man. Let it out."

He nodded, still shaking. "I love you," he said, his voice thick with unshed tears. "I'm sorry I have to leave. I love you so much. I'm going to miss you."

"It's okay, baby." Ugh, it wasn't okay, it was absolutely horrible, but I didn't want to make him feel worse! Brad just DIDN'T cry. He wasn't a very emotional person, but he was emotional right now. He pulled away from me, laying on his side, and I stared at him, wiping the tears off his face. I couldn't think of anything to say; everything that could have been said, we already did. With a sigh, I just put my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder, and we both started to cry.

~*Freddie*~

"And, one ticket to hell," Brad grumbled as he stepped away from the check-in counter at the airport, staring at the ground.

None of us knew what to say, we just stared at the ground, an awkward silence brewing between us. Sam inched toward me, and my arm instinctively went around her, pulling her closer to me, but we refrained from kissing in front of Carly and Brad. This was one of the few times we were able to keep from manhandling each other in public, simply because we didn't want our best friends to feel worse, and we were feeling pretty bad too. I was upset my best friend was leaving, and I could tell Sam was upset too, she just laid her head on my shoulder, not speaking, just continued to look at the ground.

"How much time do you have left?" I asked quietly, and Brad shrugged.

"Forty minutes, give or take."

"Security may take awhile to get through," I stated, and Brad glared at me.

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"No! Brad, come on! I'm just trying to help!" I said defensively, and Brad sighed.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry. I'm just a little on edge."

"It's cool, dude," I replied.

"You're right, I probably should go though." He looked over at Carly, taking her hand and leading her away from us. We got it, Brad wanted to say goodbye in private. I took a deep breath, looking over at Sam.

"You gonna be okay?" she asked me, her hands going to my shoulders and rubbing, and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It just sucks, you know. I haven't had a best friend in such a long time, and...I don't know, it just sucks."

"I know, baby," she replied. "He'll come back though. Holidays and stuff. You know that, right?"

"I know. But it's not the same," I responded.

"You still got me," she offered up shyly, and I nodded, giving her a smile, before kissing her softly.

"That I do, and I'm really glad. My sweet sweet baby."

"Not too much longer before we have to start school. When is registration again?"

"Two weeks," I replied. "You nervous?"

"Incredibly," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Absolutely terrified."

"You'll do fine, baby. You know if you have trouble with anything, I'll be there to help you out."

She nodded slowly, biting her bottom lip. "I'm just afraid I won't be able to keep up. I'm not gonna be as smart as those other people."

"Bullshit," I replied with a fervent shake of my head. "We've already established you've got book smarts you've just been hiding for years, and as far as street smarts go, you'll stomp those sheltered nerds."

Sam laughed a little. "Did you just call other people nerds?"

"Yep. Wanna do something about it?"

"Uh-huh," she replied. "This." She leaned forward and kissed me on the end of my nose. "You're so sweet. Incredibly misguided, but sweet."

"I do try," I responded. I looked up to see Brad and Carly walking back towards us. Carly was still crying, and Brad's eyes looked a little red, but he was holding together pretty well.

"Hey," Sam said. "You guys okay?"

Brad nodded. "Yeah. Just take care of Carly for me, okay?"

"Sure thing, man," I said with a nod.

"Well, I should probably get a move on," he stated glumly, before looking at Sam and giving her a grin. "C'mere, you crazy little thing."

Sam gave him a smile, before hugging him, and he picked her up, making her squeal a little. I was glad that didn't make me nervous any more, but it used to absolutely scare the shit out of me every time they did that.

"You're the shit, Sam. I had a blast with you this year. Next to Carly, you're the coolest chick ever, don't forget."

"How could I?" she responded, sticking her tongue out. "Good luck, Brad. Don't let the man push you around."

"I'll do my best," he replied. "Good luck with school."

"Thanks, I'll need it," Sam said, and Brad rolled his eyes.

"Quit pretending to be dumb. We're onto you." With that, he turned to me, and we both looked at the floor awkwardly, our hands in our pockets.

"Well," I said, continuing to look down. "It's been fun."

"And crazy," Brad added.

"Yeah. But mostly fun. You know...I couldn't have really..." I trailed off, biting my bottom lip. "It would have been hard getting through this year without you."

"Yeah, you too. I..." he stopped short, taking a deep breath. "You're my best friend, dude. I'm gonna miss you."

"Me too," I replied, looking up at him, before looking back down. We just stood there, still being awkward, and Sam let out an annoyed growl.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" she yelled, placing one hand on my back, the other on Brad's, and giving both of us a shove. "Just do your man handshake-hug thing and get it over with!"

I rolled my eyes, before Brad and I both gave each other a quick hug and then stepping away.

"Good luck, man," I said, and he nodded.

"You too. Take care of my girl," he said, shooting a glance over at Carly, and I nodded.

"Of course."

Brad looked at me for a second, before grinning. "You're really gonna have your hands full now, keeping track of the two of them."

"Yep."

"Hey!" Sam and Carly yelled, glaring at us.

"That is not funny, Brad!" Sam said, punching him in the chest, and he just grinned at her, giving her a little shove.

"Just messing around, blondie. Be good."

"I'll do my best," she stated with a roll of her eyes.

With that, he turned back to Carly, pulling her into his arms.

"I love you, babe," he said softly. "So, so much. I'm gonna miss you every second of every day."

She nodded. "Me too," she said, still crying. "I love you."

"It's okay. I'll see you at Thanksgiving, okay? I promise. And I'll watch every episode of iCarly until then. My sweet, beautiful girl. I love you."

"I love you too," she said again, trying to hold it together. He leaned down to kiss her, and her arms went around his neck, pulling him closer, obviously not wanting to let him go. Hmm. Well this was new and different. Me and Sam were standing there watching Brad and Carly make out, instead of the other way around.

Finally they pulled apart, and Brad took her hand, lifting it to his mouth and kissing it. "I love you, babe. I gotta go."

She nodded sadly. "I know," she replied. "Be safe, okay?"

"I will, babe. I promise. You too. I'll call you when my flight lands, alright? I love you."

"I love you too," she replied.

"Bye," he said, kissing her one last time.

"Bye," she replied, trying to hold onto his hand, but he finally pulled away from her, and her hand dropped to her side, before lifting to her mouth, and she started chewing on her nails nervously, watching as Brad headed for the security check point and handed his ticket to the TSA agent. With a final wave at us, he was gone.

Carly just stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, staring off into space, before turning back to me and Sam, a broken expression on her face, her bottom lip trembling.

I sighed, grabbing her arm and pulling her against me. "Come here, Carly. It's okay."

"No it's not!" she cried against my shoulder, gripping my arms. "Why did he have to leave?"

"Aw, Carly..." Sam said, rubbing her back. "You'll be okay. He'll come back! I promise!"

"Yeah, come on, sweetie, it's okay," I said, still hugging her. "You gotta be strong, okay? I know you're a strong girl. Prove it."

She nodded, taking a deep breath, before pulling away. "I can be strong," she said softly. "I can."

"Good," I replied, putting my arm around her. "Let's go, back to the car. Wanna go get a smoothie?"

She sighed, wiping her face. "I guess."

We started to walk to the exit, when Sam grabbed my arm suddenly, jerking me back.

"What, baby?"

"Uh, you guys?" she asked, pointing behind us, and I looked over my shoulder, my jaw dropping.

"Oh, shit."

"CARLY!"

Carly just kept walking toward the door, I guess she was lost in her own thoughts, but I grabbed her arm, jerking her back.

"CARLY!"

Carly whirled around to find Brad running toward her, and she shoved past me, running towards him. Brad skidded to a stop in front of her, grabbing her and kissing her fiercely.

"I can't do it," he cried. "Fuck my dad! I can't do it!"

"Oh my god!" Carly cried, covering her mouth. "Really?"

"I can't do it!" he said again. "I'm staying!"

Sam grabbed my arm excitedly, jumping up and down, and I just shushed her, trying to listen to what they were saying.

"Brad, your stuff! They already checked it!"

"Fuck my stuff! I can get new stuff, I can't be away from you!"

"But, school!"

Brad shook his head fiercely. "Ask Freddie."

Carly turned around to look at me, and I shrugged. "I may have applied to WSU for him, and I may have gotten him accepted, but DUDE! You told me you weren't gonna go!"

"I can't leave Carly," he stated again. "Even if I'll be a semester behind, I don't care! And I don't care what my dad says, how angry he gets! I'm not leaving!"

Sam rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air. "FINALLY! You grew some balls!"

Brad ignored her, focusing all his attention at Carly, who was staring at him.

"So you're really gonna stay," she asked softly.

"Yeah, I am," he responded. "But...you know my dad's just gonna throw me out of the house. Know anywhere I can stay?"

Carly shrugged. "I mean, you can crash on the couch for a little while."

"Carly!" he exclaimed. "Seriously?"

She shook her head, laughing. "No, idiot! You're gonna stay with me, in my bed!" She put her arms around him. "Oh my god! I can't believe this!"

"I just couldn't do it, babe. I love you so much. I didn't want to risk letting you go."

"You wouldn't have lost me," she replied. "But this is so much better!"

"A million times better," he responded, kissing her. "I love you, Carly Shay."

"I love you, Brad Harrison," she said, squealing happily, before kissing him again.

Sam and I looked at each other, amused.

"Is that how we are?" she asked in a low voice, and I nodded.

"Probably."

"Well, it is kinda cute," she responded with a grin. "So...the four of us."

"Yep."

"In one apartment."

"Uh-huh," I added.

"Hmm," she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Think we can survive this?"

"We can try," I offered.

"What if we all start fighting?"

"Hey, you know how we can get back at them," I replied with a grin, pulling her to me.

"By not respecting the noise ordinance?" she responded, a mischievous smile on her face, and I nodded.

"I told you you were a smart girl," I said, kissing her.

**THE END **

**A/N: One more thing, I will post an author's note to this story as soon as the sequel is started, but anyone really interested in reading it should subscribe to an author alert, just in case! =)**


End file.
